Pepperell Select Board settles eight-year composting lawsuit, sets November town meeting

PEPPERELL — June 24, 2026 — Pepperell Select Board closes an eight-year composting lawsuit and hears MassDEP has entered an active odor enforcement case at a second property. Select Board member Tony Cataldo announced that the Massachusetts Composting Group has agreed to permanently abandon soil reclamation plans at 163 Nashua Road, abide by town zoning for all future uses, and accept an agreement that runs with the land — all without any payment from the town. Separately, Town Administrator Andrew Magalis told the board that MassDEP inspectors visited an unpermitted fish-waste composting operation at 57 National Road the morning of June 24, less than 48 hours after the town sent formal documentation to the agency, and that the Board of Health will hold a continued enforcement hearing on July 14. Town Accountant Sandy Cupchisl reported a clean, unqualified fiscal year 2025 audit with zero findings on a separate $750,000-plus federal single audit; the town's OPEB liability fell by more than $2 million to approximately $9.7 million, though Magalis warned that combined fiscal year 2026 and 2027 health insurance rate increases exceeding 25 percent will push that figure higher. The board also set the Fall 2026 Special Town Meeting for Saturday, November 7, at Nissitissit Middle School, and unanimously approved four new committee appointments including Terry Bennett to the Council on Aging and Patricia Swain Rice as alternate to the Nashua River Watershed and Scenic Stewardship Council.