Shutesbury Board of Health Approves Two Septic Permits at May Meeting

SHUTESBURY -- May 6, 2026, Shutesbury's Board of Health unanimously approved two septic repair permits and flagged an aging system near Kinder Beach for further review at its May 6 meeting. Board Chair Catherine Hilton led a 4-0 vote approving a repair permit for 36 South Laurel Drive, a steep, sub-quarter-acre lot owned by Linda and Mike Gribko, subject to three local upgrade approvals and an annual well-testing requirement for coliform and nitrate; the permit will be held until the Conservation Commission rules on a wetlands setback at its May 14 meeting. A second 4-0 vote authorized Hilton to issue a permit for 53 West Pelham Road once the contracted health agent completes her plan review, with owner Barbara Fukushima approaching a two-year deadline to correct a failed Title V inspection. The board took no formal action on 80 Lakeview Road, where a Title V report flagged a 50-year-old concrete leaching pit beneath the driveway showing baffle corrosion and a 56-foot setback to the well, with four neighboring wells in close proximity; Hilton said she would not vote on any corrective order given her proximity to the property and would refer the matter to the health agent. The board also surfaced a 2008 failed Title V inspection at 305 West Pelham Road that apparently went unaddressed for 16 years, though a new inspection is now underway amid a pending sale.