Dudley Board of Health Elects New Chair, Defers Vote on PFAS Connection Mandate

Board of Health · Meeting of July 21, 2026

Dudley Board of Health elects new chair and tables PFAS mandatory water-connection proposal pending further review. At the July 21 meeting, the board reorganized, unanimously electing Thomas Kampe as chair and seating new member Susan Wenzel, a retired St. Vincent Hospital laboratory professional and 37-year Dudley resident.

The centerpiece of the evening was a presentation by town counsel attorney Jeffrey Blake of KP Law, who asked the board to consider adopting a regulation requiring property owners with wells exceeding state PFAS or 1,4-dioxane thresholds to connect to the town's public water line — a project funded at $14.2 million and partly tied to a cost-sharing arrangement with manufacturing company Gentex, which has been identified as a potentially responsible party for contamination in the Eagle Drive neighborhood. Member Anna Durgin challenged the proposal sharply, arguing that the Select Board had publicly assured Eagle Drive residents that connection would not be mandatory and that the Board of Health was being asked to "be the bad guys" by imposing a requirement through regulation. The board took no vote, directing Blake to return with draft regulations and requesting that the town's Licensed Site Professional brief them on contamination levels before any action is taken.

In the full story:

• Background and Stakes
• The Question Before the Body
• Substantive Content
• The Deliberation
• Procedural Outcome
• Implications
• The complete report — 2,611 words

Source: the Board of Health meeting of July 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.