Adviser to Gov. Paterson to be regional EPA director

ALBANY -- The chief environmental adviser to Gov. David Paterson has been chosen to head the regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that oversees New York and New Jersey.

President Barack Obama named Judith Enck regional administrator for Region 2, which also covers Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and seven Indian Nations.

She replaces George Pavlou, the acting regional administrator.

The agency announced the appointment Thursday. Enck was an environmental policy adviser for state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and moved to the executive branch in 2006 when Spitzer became governor.

Before government service, Enck had a long career as an environmental advocate in Albany. She worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group and headed Environmental Advocates of New York.

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