Bellingham Board Continues Septic Pump Hearing Over 100,000 Gallons of Unaccounted Effluent

BELLINGHAM — October 29, 2024 — Bellingham's Board of Health continued a year-long septic-pumping investigation and approved a free curbside textile recycling program at its October 29 meeting. Health Agent Dylan LaTante presented 12 pumping slips submitted by licensed pumper Michael Marshan for work at 419 Maple Street that together claimed 108,000 gallons of septic effluent disposed of during a January-to-March 2024 tight-tank order — but Louise Doobie of Doobie Environmental, testifying remotely, confirmed her Madison, Maine facility received only 8,000 gallons, picked up in late May. Vice Chair Rick Giberio, presiding in place of a recused Chair Vinnie Osa, said he was "not happy with the answers" and stopped short of revoking Marshan's Bellingham permits only because a key factual question — whether a Doobie employee handed Marshan blank disposal slips — remains unresolved; the hearing was continued to November 19. In separate action, the board unanimously approved a partnership with Planet Aid, a Milford-based 501(c)(3), to offer free weekly Saturday curbside textile pickup to residents, with the town to receive 9 cents per pound collected from the 163,000 pounds of textiles Planet Aid already recycled in Bellingham this year.