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Hubbardston board hears legal briefing on boards of health authority, nuisance powers
Summary
At the Town of Hubbardston Board of Health meeting on Jan. 28, presenter Mike Hugo outlined Massachusetts boards of health legal authority under Chapter 111, described recent court cases that define nuisance and enforcement powers, and urged decisions grounded in science and recordable hearings.
Mike Hugo, a presenter from the Massachusetts Authority of Boards of Health, told the Town of Hubbardston Board of Health on Jan. 28 that local boards exercise unusually broad authority under Chapter 111 and that courts review whether boards relied on appropriate evidence rather than substituting their own judgment.
Hugo said the board’s rulemaking and enforcement are treated by higher courts “as if it was a state statute,” and that when a board records a finding that a condition “could affect the public health,” the board may order remediation, fines or shut-downs. He described nuisance authority as central: “If in the opinion of the Board of Health there is a condition that could affect the public health, the Board…
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