The Bedford Planning Board on June 16 approved a site plan for Saint Anselm College’s proposed track-and-field athletic complex, subject to conditions requiring a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) testing and monitoring program, third‑party review, limits on light spillover and a sound‑monitoring program with a property‑line decibel cap.

The unanimous approval followed a continued hearing focused on five priority items: PFAS testing, a monitoring agreement, lighting, sound monitoring and a usage table. The board amended the staff condition requiring PFAS work to follow the memo prepared by chemist Elizabeth Denley dated 06/12/2025 and required that testing reports be shared with New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the towns of Bedford and Goffstown.

Why it matters: The college’s plan calls for artificial turf, a track, bleachers, a field house and associated site work on land that crosses municipal lines and abuts wetlands. Residents and boards have repeatedly raised PFAS, nighttime light and amplified‑sound concerns; the board’s approval ties monitoring, reporting and enforcement paths to the site plan approval.

Most important facts
- The board’s final motion granted site‑plan approval subject to conditions 1–23 in the staff memo and amended condition 11 to reference Elizabeth Denley’s 06/12/2025 PFAS memo and any subsequent revisions. The motion requires third‑party review of the PFAS program and sharing of test results with state and local authorities.
- The board approved a waiver to LDCR section 327.10.4 to allow a maximum of 0.2 foot‑candles at the property line over roughly 2,400 square feet to accommodate 90‑foot light poles; an abutter provided written consent for that spillover area.
- The applicant agreed to a sound monitoring program designed to limit sound at the property line to about 60 dB; the monitoring plan and response steps will be incorporated into a development/monitoring agreement subject to town review and enforcement.

What applicants and experts said
- Elizabeth Denley, PFAS initiative leader at TRC: “PFAS is used in a wide variety of industries and a wide variety of products,” and she described a three‑part testing approach for materials (solvent extraction, TOP assay, and SPLP leaching) plus pre‑ and post‑installation stormwater sampling to detect leaching.
- Bill Furlong, chief financial officer, Saint Anselm College: “The lights will only light the field events,” clarifying the lights are intended to illuminate the playing field rather than the track and that typical event frequency is limited (the college estimated roughly 6–8 lighting events per semester for games).

Board and staff notes
- Planning director Becky Hebert told the board the draft monitoring/development agreement would be reviewed by the town attorney and that the town had engaged independent peer review (Nobis) to review the applicant’s PFAS sampling program.
- Board members pressed for clarity on PFAS sample depth and on enforcement mechanics for sound complaints (how the town would document and confirm alleged exceedances). Applicants and staff said the development agreement would specify monitoring instrumentation, response steps and enforcement remedies; the parties left some technical details for the town attorney and third‑party reviewers to finalize.

What remains: The development/monitoring agreement must be finalized with the planning director and town attorney; PFAS testing results and monitoring reports are to be provided to Bedford and Goffstown (and to DES as required), and the applicant must implement the agreed testing program before and after turf installation with annual stormwater sampling in perpetuity.