Hadley Board of Health Hears Green Burial Pitch, Plans Cemetery Commission Outreach

HADLEY — June 16, 2026 — Hadley Board of Health opens the door to green burial and previews two new health regulations. Representatives from Green Burial Massachusetts, a statewide volunteer nonprofit, presented to the board on June 16, explaining that Hadley currently has no local regulation acknowledging natural burial practices even though the state permits them; the board discussed directing its health director to contact the town cemetery commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection as first steps. Presenters Eileen, a hospice nurse, and Ray Harper, a geologist, outlined cost differences between conventional burial — one local family was quoted a minimum of $18,000 — and green burial, which can run from $500 to a few thousand dollars depending on site and container. Separately, the health director told the board that draft proposals to ban synthetic drugs including kratom and to enact a nicotine-free generation tobacco policy — already on the books in Northampton, Amherst, South Hadley, Pelham, and Belchertown — will be brought before the board for a vote before the end of 2026. The board also learned that food truck events on Route 9 are now permitted on a temporary basis after staff found no documented vote ever formally banning them, and that fiscal year 2026 permit revenue stands at $45,000 against a $60,000 target with roughly 10 days left in the fiscal year.