Granby Board of Health Denies Septic Permit, Flags Suspected Sewage Discharge

GRANBY -- January 13, 2026, Granby Board of Health flags suspected sewage discharge, denies septic permit, and moves toward rental water testing policy. The three-member board, meeting without member Bill Shaheen on January 13, heard from a resident near the corner of South Street and East Street who reported a pooling black liquid on his property testing positive for high E. coli counts through Quabin Analytics in Belchertown; the board plans to ask the town highway department to excavate a pipe on town property to find the source. The board denied a new septic tank application for 303 East State Street, requiring engineer-confirmed water table data before it will act, and rejected a permit extension argument for Lot 2 on Chape Street tied to applicant Jerry Kodir, ruling the cited governor's order applies only to land development permits and not Title 5 septic construction permits. Health Agent Colleen was directed to contact the landlord of a rental property whose tenant has reported water odor and a skin rash since September, and to gather information from the Northampton health department on rental unit water testing requirements, a policy the board said it expects to address townwide. The board also raised preliminary concerns about a proposed 75-lot Harbor Street development, citing extremely difficult glacial soil conditions and the potential cost of outside engineering oversight for perk testing.