Westford Board of Health Moves to Engage Planning Board on Battery Storage Risks

WESTFORD — May 13, 2026 — Westford Board of Health raises public health alarms over battery storage siting and moves to update its outdated rodenticide policy. At the May 13 meeting, Health Director Ray Wellman briefed the board on plans by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments to draft zoning amendments governing battery energy storage systems, with the Planning Board set to hold its first discussion May 18 and a special town meeting deadline believed to fall around November 1. Wellman cited PFAS contamination risk, toxic gas release, and fire-suppression water demands as top concerns in a town that draws all its drinking water from groundwater. Board members Megan and Chair Stephanie Granger agreed to draft a public health memo to the Planning Board before its upcoming meeting. On rodenticides, Wellman described a six-to-twelve-month pilot at the Cameron Senior Center replacing bait boxes with mechanical traps, and said the town's undated pesticide use policy — which currently exempts rodenticide bait stations — "clearly needs to be updated." Wildlife rehabilitator Avery, speaking during public comment, told the board she had personally treated animals killed by secondary rodenticide ingestion and urged faster action than the pilot timeline suggests.