Baldacci names lawyer from Starks as environmental panel chairman

Gov. John Baldacci named a lawyer from Starks chairman of the state Board of Environmental Protection on Wednesday.

Ernest Hilton, who has served on the BEP for nine years, will serve as interim chairman until the board completes work on several major issues. Hilton succeeds Virginia Plummer, whose term on the BEP has expired.

“I am pleased that Ernest Hilton is eager to serve as the chair of the board,” Baldacci said in a statement. “His past service to the BEP along with his breadth of experience, knowledge and judgment of the issues before the Board have been invaluable.”

Hilton is a lawyer and civil engineer who has been heavily involved in local government as well as with the BEP. He has served as a Starks selectman as well as a member of the town’s board of appeals, a board member in SAD 59 and a board member of the Madison Area Health Council, according to information provided by the Governor’s Office.

Hilton has also worked as a contractor for the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

The BEP acts as the rule-making body for the state Department of Environmental Protection. The board also approves enforcement cases, reviews appeals of department decisions and often takes over jurisdiction on significant permitting and licensing applications.

One high-profile issue still pending before the board involves applications for liquefied natural gas facilities in Washington County.

The board held lengthy public hearings on a proposal from Downeast LNG to build an LNG shipping terminal and storage facility in Robbinston. The developer of that project, Downeast LNG, has since withdrawn that application and plans to refile with changes. Several other LNG applications are also pending or expected to be submitted.

Hilton is consistently one of the more vocal members of the board during meetings.