Granby Board of Health closes hearing on stricter local septic rules

GRANBY -- August 1, 2025, Granby Board of Health holds public hearing on septic rules that exceed state Title 5 standards. Board Chair Dick Bombardier opened and closed the hearing Friday, telling attendees a procedural posting error means the board cannot vote on adoption until its rescheduled August 13 meeting. Key contested provisions include a five-foot groundwater separation requirement for Class 1 soils, which resident Alan Weiss and an unnamed engineer both questioned as potentially misaligned with actual Title 5 soil classifications, and a 330-gallon-per-day minimum design flow for commercial leach fields, which resident Bob Sheen of 144 Taylor Street argued should defer to the state minimum. Board member Bill Cantlin defended the package, saying Granby's septic failure rate is "the lowest I know of in this part of the state" after 40 years of observation. Resident Steve Brunetti argued the board should petition the state to revise Title 5 rather than adopt local rules above it; Bombardier replied that state law explicitly authorizes local boards to set more stringent standards when soil conditions warrant.