Dover Board of Health Refers Revised Well Rules to Town Counsel for Review

DOVER -- June 8, 2026, Dover Board of Health advances well regulation overhaul with 40B development looming. The three-member board voted 3-0 at its June 8 Zoom meeting to refer revised well regulations to Town Counsel, with Chair Kay Peterson and Member Steven Kresko both citing a pending 40B affordability process on Strawberry Hill Street as the reason for urgency. The draft regulation includes a new PFAS testing requirement and a provision, Section 42, explicitly authorizing the board to require applicants to submit a hydrogeological study if a proposed well could deplete nearby private wells or the town's shared aquifer. The board will next meet September 14 but may convene a special summer session if Town Counsel responds quickly. Also at the meeting, administrative staff member Sophia was confirmed as a new full-time employee of the Health Department effective July 1, and Health Director Jason noted that Dover Market's tobacco license would be suspended for one day beginning the morning of June 9 as a result of prior enforcement action.