Name and title or job description: Raymond Bellemore II, Owner
Business name and location: Souhegan Septic Tank Service, Amherst, New Hampshire
Services we offer: We perform septic and grease trap pumping, septic repairs, camera inspections, riser installations and filter cleaning and replacement for both residential and commercial customers.
Years in the industry: Souhegan has been in business since 1978 when it was established by Carole and Jack Fedas Sr. It was later passed on to Lynn and Jack Fedas Jr. I have been in business since 2001 providing a multitude of services including catch basin cleaning, storm drain and sewer cleaning and jetting, mainline camera inspection, pipe relining and septic services. We combined forces in 2021.
Association involvement: I have been a member of the New Hampshire Association of Septic Haulers for 20 years and currently serve on the board of directors.
Benefits of belonging to the association: It provides a chance to network with other companies in the industry as well as have influence and a voice at the state level as new regulations are studied and opened up for commentary.
Biggest issue facing your association right now: Disposal is currently a big issue for us. I find that over the years land application is being used less often. At the same time, wastewater treatment plant rates have continued to rise. So there are fewer reasonable disposal options available to pumpers. Another issue is PFOS and PFOA chemicals (used in products to make them resistant to grease, oil, stains and water), which are a big environmental concern, impacting both land application sites and wastewater treatment plants.
Our crew includes: We have an incredible crew. Phil Pellerin has over 30 years’ experience. Will Robbins, Colton Gregg, Derin Thomas provide exemplary service. The office team consists of Pauline Renaud, Lynn Fedas, Nicole Carson and Sue Sylvestre who do an outstanding job.
Typical day on the job: I begin the day by communicating with the office team about scheduling and special projects. Then I spend time on the road meeting with commercial customers. I also follow up with my team members each day.
The job I’ll never forget: One mission I still laugh about happened at a college in New Hampshire. They were experiencing a sewer backup in one of the dormitories. After running hundreds of feet of hose into the building and hiring a rigging company to lift a large pump station from its structure, we pumped and determined that a student somehow managed to flush a full-sized football into the system, obstructing the pump and backing up into the building. To this day we still have a hard time understanding how a football could have gotten in there.
Most challenging site I’ve worked on: Every site presents some kind of challenge when we’re trying to solve issues with septic or wastewater systems. There are security issues with government projects, prisons and nuclear power plants; system design and age issues with hospitals and repurposed industrial and commercial sites; and scheduling issues with schools, hospitals and 24-hour operations.
The craziest question or comment from a customer: Once, when emptying an older gentleman’s tank, he asked if we could retrieve his dentures so he could clean and reuse them. He said he didn’t want to spend money on new ones.
If I could change one industry regulation, it would be: Mandating treatment plant hours to match our customer service hours.
Best piece of small business advice I’ve heard: My dad used to tell me, “You’re only as strong in the field as you are in the front office.” I still live by this today.
Crystal ball time – This is my outlook for the wastewater industry: With a growing population, we will start to see an increase in housing. This will require more usage of wastewater treatment facilities through septic systems or town sewers. This means more trained staff and equipment will be needed in the industry.
