Press Release: 5/20/2026
Owner of Blackstone-Based Environmental Services Company Sentenced for Submitting False Septage Disposal Records
Defendant Sentenced to Two Years in the House of Correction, Suspended with 3 Years Probation, for Intentionally Submitting Inaccurate and Fraudulent Septage Hauling Records to the Bellingham Board of Health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
5/19/2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Kennedy Sims, Deputy Press Secretary
Phone
Call Kennedy Sims, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543
Online
Email Kennedy Sims, Deputy Press Secretary at Kennedy.Sims@mass.gov
BLACKSTONE — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced that the owner of environmental services company Marchand Environmental, Michael L. Marchand, 55 of Blackstone, was sentenced today to two years in the House of Correction, suspended for three years with probation, for submitting false septic waste transport and disposal records to the Town of Bellingham Board of Health. The purported records detailed the removal and disposal of approximately 99,000 gallons of septage from a property in Bellingham. Earlier this month, Marchand was convicted by a jury on twelve counts of uttering false public documents following a two-day trial in Norfolk Superior Court.
In addition to the suspended House of Correction sentence, the Court ordered Marchand to provide enhanced notification to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) of all activities related to the transport and removal of septage and comply with MassDEP mandated inspections of all septage operations.
According to evidence presented at trial, Marchand was hired by a building supply company to repair its failed septic system at 419 Maple Street in Bellingham. As part of this work, the Bellingham Board of Health required him to pump, transport and dispose of septic waste from the location from January through March 2024. In May 2024, the Bellingham Board of Health requested that Marchand provide it with pumping records, as required by law. The twelve records Marchand submitted to the Board of Health revealed that he had pumped, transported and disposed of approximately 99,000 gallons of septage from the property.
After reviewing the submitted records, the Bellingham Board of Health determined that the records contained false information and failed to include required details, such as the location of the disposal facility and signatures verifying septage disposal. An investigation led by the AGO and the Massachusetts Environmental Police found that Marchand intentionally submitted the false records to the Bellingham Board of Health with the intent to defraud the Board. The actual location of where the septage was disposed remains unknown.
Inadequately treated septage can transmit disease to humans and animals and can contaminate soil, groundwater, and surface water, potentially threatening drinking water supplies, shellfish beds, and beaches. Because of these serious public health and environmental risks, the law requires septage haulers to properly transport and dispose of all septic waste.
Separately, Marchand, his companies — Marchand LLC and 25 Elm Street LLC — and his son, Michael Marchand, are named as defendants in an ongoing civil lawsuit filed by the AGO’s Environmental Protection Division alleging violations of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act, the State Environmental Code, and the Massachusetts Solid Waste Disposal Act for allegedly dumping septic waste, construction and demolition waste, and wood waste into wetlands at their facility in the Town of Blackstone. That case remains pending.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Neil Clinton and Deputy Division Chief David Wittenberg of the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Strike Force (ECSF), with assistance from Massachusetts Environmental Police detectives assigned to the AGO, Environmental Analyst Jennifer Macionus and Acting Director Stephen Spencer of MassDEP’s Environmental Strike Force, and Maine State Police. Bellingham Board of Health staff also provided valuable assistance in this matter.
ECSF investigates and prosecutes environmental crimes that pose significant threats to human health, including cases involving illegal hazardous and solid waste disposal, water pollution, air emissions, pesticide application, and violations of wetland protection statutes. The strike force is comprised of prosecutors from the AGO, officers from the Massachusetts Environmental Police investigators, engineers, and attorneys from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.