Orleans Board of Health Orders 24 Sewer Holdouts to Appear July 23 or Face Fines

ORLEANS -- June 18, 2026, Orleans Board of Health orders 24 Phase 1 sewer holdouts to appear at a July 23 show cause hearing or face immediate fines. Chair Joe Hartung convened the special enforcement session after staff presented a categorized spreadsheet showing 10 properties in Block 1 with little or no progress and 14 properties in Blocks 1 and 2 with approved plans but no connection, all past a March 2025 compliance deadline. Properties that do not demonstrate "substantial progress" to the health department before July 23 must appear in person; those that fail to appear or show movement will be fined $200 beginning July 24, with additional fines on a four-week cycle. Separately, the board voted unanimously to approve a hardship sewer connection grant of up to $7,500, waiving the Aqua Fund pre-qualification requirement, for a Phase 2 property whose septic system is actively backing up into the home and onto the ground, and authorized staff to develop a zero-percent loan plan drawn from the roughly $95,000 remaining in the town's sewer connection grant account, with a full proposal and cost estimate to return at the July meeting.