Resident asks commissioners to convene review of health department order requiring well abandonment

Kathy Sawyer Hechsel asked the board to convene the county’s citizen-protection subcommittee to independently review a Kent County Health Department order to abandon and redrill her residential well, saying the department is withholding occupancy and that new scientific evidence has emerged since the department’s original decision. "So I'm here today to ask why. Why is the subcommittee not convened?" she told commissioners.

Hechsel said the subcommittee review process exists so elected officials can exercise oversight when administrative decisions significantly affect residents, and asked commissioners to either affirm the health department's action if it withstands independent review or correct it if errors are found. The board did not take action during the meeting.