Printer-friendlyEnvironment DEC
From the September 2007 issue
Gene Kelly Named Director of DEC Region 4
Gene Kelly, an experienced environmental litigator who has had a distinguished career with New York State and the United States Marine Corps, has been named Director of the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Region 4 Office, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced.
New Region 4 Director Gene Kelly
"We are thrilled to have Gene back with us at DEC and to have his impressive knowledge and understanding of the complex environmental issues facing both the region and our state," Commissioner Grannis said. "Gene's distinguished career has been focused on protecting our natural resources and serving our country, and we are fortunate to have him leading our Region 4 Office."
Background and Experience
Most recently, Mr. Kelly served as an assistant attorney general at the New York State Department of Law. For 10 years, he represented the state in a multi-party litigation brought against utilities under the Clean Air Act, including serving as lead attorney in the case against Cinergy Corporation. This groundbreaking air-quality protection case brought against a midwest utility by then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is due to go to trial next year. Prior to working in the Attorney General's Office, Mr. Kelly served as an assistant regional attorney in the Region 4 Office and as senior attorney at DEC headquarters. Currently, Mr. Kelly is lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, where he is an environmental law judge advocate, advising about Marine Corps compliance with environmental and land-use issues.
DEC Region 4
DEC's Region 4 includes nine counties in the Capital District/northern Catskill area: Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Schoharie. It covers almost 4 million acres, bordering Massachusetts and Vermont on the east and Pennsylvania on the southwest. Region 4 boasts a number of unique resources, including the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, four DEC campgrounds, the northern section of the Catskill Forest Preserve, the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and part of the New York City Watershed. In addition, Region 4 contains sections of four major river basins: the Hudson River basin, the Mohawk River basin, the Delaware River basin and the Susquehanna River basin.
