Dudley Health Board Moves to Simplify Septic Permits

Board of Health · Meeting of January 20, 2026

Dudley Board of Health welcomes new health agent, weighs loosening septic permit rules. Health Agent Justin Lapham, who started just before Christmas, told the board he's clearing a backlog of Title 5 septic, food and housing inspections and proposed splitting a bundled $380 fee so homeowners can get a design plan approved before being locked into one installer's price, calling the change "better for the public for sure." The board also accepted a $100 gift certificate donation from Big Al's, backed a 2027 budget request, and voted to partner with the Dudley Lions Club and a women's club on a February diaper drive. Three nuisance complaints, including a smell and noise dispute tied to a pending backyard chicken permit, remain open.

A separate advertisement donation to Upside Food and Drink passed with one abstention.

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Source: the Board of Health meeting of January 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.