Halifax Board of Health Votes 2-1 to Back Marilyn's Landing Landfill Repair Project

HALIFAX -- June 17, 2026, Halifax Board of Health voted 2-1 to send a formal letter of support to MassDEP backing McDonald Industries' corrective action soil project at Marilyn's Landing, the town's capped landfill on the Halifax-Bridgewater line. The chair, who voted yes alongside Co-Chair Candace, delivered a lengthy pre-vote statement citing site visits, a third-party review by Tighe and Bond, and a MassDEP finding that an October 2025 arsenic-in-soil incident posed no risk to human health; the third member, Dave, voted no, citing unresolved questions about whether the project could be completed with less imported fill. Several residents disputed the board's compliance characterization during a fractious public session the chair repeatedly called to order, with one resident identifying herself as a cancer nurse and referencing cancer rates near the landfill. The board also conducted interviews for the open health agent position but took no vote, directing members to submit their preferences to the Board of Health office; the grant funding the interim agent's position enters its third and final year in FY27 with renewal uncertain.