Charlton Board of Health Approves Three Well Variances for Leland Drive Septic Upgrade

CHARLTON -- February 11, 2025, Charlton Board of Health approves three septic variances and cuts a tobacco suspension to one day. The board unanimously approved local upgrade approvals for a conventional septic system replacement at 35 Leland Drive, granting setback variances from wells at three abutting properties, 33, 35, and 37 Leland Drive, after engineer Chris McClure of McClure Engineering presented plans showing all separations exceed the required 50-foot minimum. Board agent Tom, joining by phone, endorsed the plan as "about the best that you can do with the site" but noted one abutter's well had tested positive for total coliform, recommending approval contingent on corrective treatment by the affected owner. The board also voted unanimously to reduce a state-mandated three-day tobacco sales suspension to a single Monday for a first-time violator, a long-established retailer hit with a $1,000 fine the board could not reduce, with Health Agent Jim noting "nothing hurts me more than to have to write a ticket to someone and hand him a $1,000 ticket for a $20 sale." Members also discussed the town's PFAS monitoring burden, currently covering 44 residential properties at costs that have reached $40,000 in some months, and directed the consultant to challenge what members called an inconsistent DEP enforcement standard after learning the town of Sterling's water supply tested at nearly 24 parts per trillion without equivalent remediation requirements.