The California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has created a new position, assistant deputy director, to lead its regulatory efforts on such programs as underground natural gas storage, underground injection, well stimulation and orphan/idle wells. The Sacramento-based position will direct statewide activities in those areas in a state oil/gas division with 275 workers. Applications will be taken through June 9.

Washington, DC-based NGVAmerica President Matt Godlewski is leaving the association. Mitchell Pratt, COO and corporate secretary at Clean Energy Fuels Corp., has been named the new chairman, succeeding Gordon Exel of Westport Fuel Systems. Pratt is a member of NGVAmerica’s board and executive committee in addition to having recently served as its treasurer. He has been involved in the leadership of the natural gas vehicle trade organization over the past two years and has more than 30 years of experience in various roles in the natural gas industry. Godlewski, will be stepping down this month to take a position with Ford Motor Co. at the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, MI. He had announced his departure to the NGVAmerica Board in April.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) has named a 24-year U.S. Army veteran, Sean Mayo, as the new state director of pipeline safety, UTC Chairman David Danner said Thursday. Mayo served the U.S. Army as a senior operations manager responsible for operational and tactical safety, including hazard identification and mitigation. He also served as a senior military instructor at the University of Minnesota. Mayo holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Trident University and a master’s degree in leadership from the University of Texas at El Paso. The UTC regulates the safety practices of 31 pipeline operators and more than 48,000 miles of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines in Washington state.