The Town of Charlton received a status update on the Flint Road landfill closure plan and ongoing PFAS monitoring during the Jan. 7 Board of Health meeting, with town consultants reporting a MassDEP technical‑deficiency letter has been addressed and a permit decision expected in the spring.

Why it matters: The landfill closure and PFAS testing affect municipal obligations for groundwater and surface‑water monitoring, potential treatment or water provision to homes, long‑term monitoring costs and the schedule and financing for a capping project.

Consultant Gary Magnuson told the board the town submitted a permit application to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for capping the landfill and has been responding to a technical‑deficiency letter from MassDEP. Magnuson said most questions were technical (for example, how to handle telephone poles near the cap) and that one concern—small amounts of landfill debris on an abutter’s property—will be handled using the abutter access agreement rather than requiring the abutter to join the town’s permit application.

Magnuson said the town should receive further correspondence and likely a permit in spring and that if the permit is issued contractors could be invited to bid late spring or early summer. He said the contractor work will require importing significant quantities of fill material under the plan to shape and cap the site; the current estimate referenced in discussion was 40,000–52,000 cubic yards (roughly 60,000 tons), but the final bid will define the real quantities and credit for incoming materials.

On funding, Magnuson said town finance committees have approved the town moving forward to borrow up to $2,000,000 for the closure work and that staff (Andrew) has authorization to pursue that borrowing when the town is ready to proceed.

PFAS monitoring and sampling: Magnuson reported the semiannual landfill monitoring occurred in late December and that surface‑water and groundwater sampling work is continuing to determine the source and flow patterns of PFAS in the area. He described surface‑water samples that showed elevated PFOS concentrations at one monitoring point downgradient of the landfill and said the team collected additional upstream and downstream samples (about 14 stream samples in a targeted study) to trace where PFAS is entering the flow.

He said the town is seeking to reduce sampling frequency for some long‑stable monitoring locations: the town will request MassDEP allow reduced testing frequency (for example, moving from quarterly to semiannual or annual) for wells and properties that have shown consistent non‑detect results over multiple quarters. Magnuson said ongoing drinking‑water treatment systems installed at affected homes have met criteria that allowed the town to discontinue bottled‑water provision for some homes that now receive treated water.

Downhole testing: The board had asked for sampling directly from well boreholes to check whether distribution plumbing or pumps are contributing PFAS. Magnuson described a well test at 15 Old Town Road where a tap sample measured 7.5 ng/L (total PFAS6) and a direct open‑borehole sample collected from below the static water level measured about 11.1 ng/L; Magnuson said the small difference suggests the well or pump is unlikely to be a major additional source but that the board had requested two more similar tests to increase confidence.

Other operational items: Magnuson said routine maintenance (mowing and patch work) has improved the landfill’s appearance and suggested the town consider cleaning a downstream detention basin when contractors are working nearby. He also said the engineering team will install replacement monitoring wells at the landfill edge before capping, and that the town will continue to coordinate with MassDEP to complete a phase‑2 evaluation that documents the degree and extent of PFAS and other sources in the area.

Next steps: staff and consultants will submit reduced sampling requests to MassDEP based on multiple quarters of non‑detects, complete the surface‑water sampling analysis and provide the board with mapping and data when available. Magnuson offered to attend the next meeting if new, significant data arrive; otherwise staff will circulate results by email.

Formal actions recorded in the meeting included reporting that FINCOM authorized up to $2,000,000 in potential borrowing and that the town has submitted the permit application and is responding to MassDEP questions.