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Board approves WPCA budget; chair seeks groundwater testing in Sound View
Summary
The board approved a $95,476 WPCA budget after hearing from the new WPCA chair, who requested seasonal groundwater testing in Sound View wells to check for past contamination; members agreed to carry forward and allocate funds as needed and to consult selectmen if tests are needed before July 1.
The Board of Finance approved a revised Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) budget of $95,476 and directed the WPCA to coordinate with the Board of Selectmen about in‑year testing needs after hearing a plan for renewed groundwater monitoring in Sound View.
Mary, identified in the meeting as the new WPCA chair, told the board that the WPCA had obtained a quote from the environmental consultant who previously tested the wells and proposed reopening five wells in Sound View for sampling. The quote for opening and sampling each set of wells was approximately $2,350; Mary proposed sampling at several points this season — late March (before the summer influx), June, late August and October — to establish before‑and‑after seasonal baselines. "We feel that that would be a good base for us so that we do know if we do have groundwater pollution or not," she said.
Members discussed timing because some testing dates fall into the current fiscal year and some into the next. Board members recommended that, if WPCA needs an appropriation before July, it should come before the Board of Selectmen. The board also examined an increase in the WPCA legal counsel line; given uncertain litigation or permit work, members said the legal budget is hard to pin down and agreed to allow flexibility if further appropriations become necessary.
At the close of the WPCA discussion the board voted by voice to approve the revised WPCA total. The vote was recorded as approved; no roll‑call vote with named tallies appears in the transcript.
The board asked staff and WPCA leadership to return with firm schedules, a spending plan for any tests to occur before July 1 and any requested special appropriations.
