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Nichols passed over by Obama

Mary Nichols, the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, will not head the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The job will go instead to Lisa Jackson, who once headed up New Jersey's top environmental agency. 

But several other Californians were tapped by President-elect Barack Obama's energy team. Among them is Californian Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winner who will serve as  as secretary of energy. Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley will lead  Obama's Council on Environmental Quality.

The appointments are expected to be formally announced next week, according to Politico.

Nichols was thought to be a finalist for the EPA post. As head of the state Air Resources Board, she is chared with overseeing the implementation of AB 32, which seeks to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. 

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