Richard Swinehart will serve on the state Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, which will decide whether an 80-megawatt solar project in Waterloo is appropriate.
He was selected by state officials to be an ad hoc member of the board.
Swinehart previously served as Seneca County District Attorney; and lives on Packwood Road, near the proposed site.
He is one of four local residents proposed by the Seneca County Board of Supervisors and Waterloo Town Board.
Another ad hoc member could be selected. The Finger Lakes Times reports that remaining nominees include Joseph Wukitsch of 207 Packwood Road, a retired Rochester Police Department officer, and Randy Neth of 216 Packwood Road, a senior vice president of Blue Cross-Blue Shield in Rochester.
A fourth nominee, retired school psychologist George Dutton, also of Packwood Road, has withdrawn his name.
The Siting Board process is a legal requirement for any project or proposal that must go through the Article 10 review process. Trelina Solar Energy of Juno Beach, Florida is behind the project.
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