Littleton Board of Health elects Kevin Baker chair, advances well-water rules

LITTLETON -- June 11, 2026, Littleton Board of Health unanimously elected Kevin Baker as its new chair and debated sweeping private well-water testing rules at its June 11 meeting. Dan Kane was elected vice chair and Libby Donegan secretary, also by unanimous votes, completing the board's annual reorganization after outgoing Chair Kevin Davis stepped down to member status. The bulk of the two-hour session focused on draft well regulations derived from state DEP model language, with members wrestling over whether to require VOC and PFAS testing, costs that could exceed $1,000 per test, and how broadly the board can order homeowners to test without a specific, legally defensible trigger. Baker cautioned that ordering "a thousand dollars of water testing" requires "a pretty darn good rationale." Members also flagged a proposed liquefied natural gas facility at Kimball's Farm, which appeared before the Planning Board on May 14 without prior notice to the Board of Health or the Select Board, and agreed to add it to the June 24 agenda ahead of a Planning Board public hearing on July 9. Health Director Francis Tangle, who the board thanked as the town's inaugural health director, is departing the department; roughly five candidates have applied for the position.