Environmental Health
Boards of health have broad authority to regulate in environmental areas where there is a risk of adverse health consequences. Boards of health have the power to enforce state laws and regulations concerning groundwater monitoring, septic systems, underground fuel tanks and chemical storage, landfills, hazardous waste, and water supply contamination. The board of health may make and enforce regulations concerning house drainage and connection with common sewers. The board of health is required to approve sites for solid waste disposal facilities and hazardous waste facilities. Preliminary and definitive subdivision plans must be submitted to the board of health for approval. An excellent resource in this area is the Massachusetts Environmental Health Association, which provides training, educational programs, and networking for professionals in the fields of public and environmental health.
Health Nuisances
Boards of health have considerable authority to take actions in the removal of nuisances. A health nuisance is defined by law as a source of filth or a cause of sickness. State law14 gives the board of health, after a public hearing, the power to approve a business that may result in a nuisance or harm to the inhabitants, cause injury to their land, or cause offensive or dangerous odors. This permission is called a site assignment.
Boards of health are authorized to examine all nuisances that may be injurious to the public health and to destroy, remove or prevent them.15 A separate law16 gives the Select Board the same nuisance abatement powers. The Select Board may declare a burned, dilapidated or dangerous building, structure or vacant lot to be a nuisance. After holding a public hearing and giving written notice to the owner of the property or their authorized agent, the board may order the nuisance altered, disposed of or regulated. If the owner fails to comply, the town can sue for the cost of removing the building or for the cost of another solution.17
Some municipalities have nuisance bylaws or ordinances that allow them to clean up a nuisance, bill the property owner for costs, and place a lien on the property if the bill is not paid.18 As an alternative, some municipalities prefer to seek a court order against the owner requiring the cleanup at the expense of the owner, so that the municipality does not have to be responsible for any costs involved. This would require court action and thus should be discussed and coordinated with town counsel.
Health departments have become an essential part of community code enforcement teams for dealing with unsafe or blighted properties.
Sewage and Septic Systems
Septic systems, sewage treatment plants, and sewage systems are of regular concern to municipalities. Under state law,19 the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regulates all disposal of sewage by sewerage and septic systems. More than 60 cities and towns in eastern and central Massachusetts are connected directly or indirectly to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which is responsible for regional wastewater collection and treatment, and water supply. The MWRA can issue orders to private dischargers and municipalities violating MWRA regulations, which impose detailed and comprehensive limitations.
A separate MassDEP permit program, the Division of Water Pollution Control, regulates the construction, connections, repairs, expansions and extensions of public and private sewage treatment plants and their sewerage and discharge points.
Title 5
Boards of health are also the local enforcement agents for the State Environmental Code (310 CMR 11.00, 310 CMR 15.000), Title 5 of which establishes minimum standards for on-site sewage disposal. Title 5 governs the type of system installed, the permit procedure, the design specifications, the testing prerequisites, and the performance standards (including certain inspections during the life of the system, as with a land transfer). Each septic system requires a permit from the local board of health or its agent, following a physical inspection.
Certain provisions of Title 5 cannot be waived, but any variance requires approval of the board of health and, on review, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. For example, the MassDEP must approve the use of most alternative systems, modifications of large flow systems, and several other project types where state review is appropriate.
In addition to these statutes and regulations, municipalities have authority to promulgate their own septic system regulations.20 Many municipalities have such local septic system rules. Some municipalities have used this power to regulate package treatment plants, mounded septic systems, groundwater and soil conditions, and time-of-testing during the year.
Solid Waste
State law requires local boards of health to approve sites for solid waste disposal facilities21 and hazardous waste facilities,22 and a board of health permit is needed for the collection and transportation of garbage, or other offensive substances, through town streets.23 The day-to-day responsibility for managing trash collection, landfills, transfer stations and recycling programs, however, typically falls to the department of public works and/or the Select Board (see Chapter 9). Local boards of health also often participate in the Mercury Recovery Program and manage collection sites for mercury-containing products.
Beavers
