The Commissioners Court voted July 9, 2007, that we would have to appear before it on August 14, 2007, at 2 o’clock p.m. to “demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Hays County On-Site Sewage Facility regulations.” Consider the following facts.
We hired a registered sanitarian, Mr. Andy Grubbs (See Who’s Who for his complete credentials.), who is well known to the staff of Hays County EHD as a septic designer, to prepare detailed plans for the septic system for our commercial kitchen. The plans went through several iterations with the involvement of the professional staff of the EHD. On February 22, 2005, EHD issued an OSSF construction permit. A licensed contractor installed the system. On September 11, 2006, a Notice of Approval was granted to operate the system. Therefore, the staff of Hays County attested to the safety of the system.
Neighbor appealed the permit. Commissioners Court held a public hearing on July 11, 2006, and heard Neighbor’s appeal. At that time, all issues surrounding the system were discussed, especially the safety of the system. The court voted by unanimously to deny Neighbor’s appeal. In other words, the Court unanimously agreed our permit was valid and issued in accordance with state and county policies and laws.
Immediately following that hearing and vote, Commissioner Ingalsbe had Special Counsel Murphy ask TCEQ to review the system. (See Ingalsbe Exposed for more details.) In a response to Commissioner Ingalsbe, the TCEQ stated that the septic system complied with all state laws and there was no problem.
Now, the Commissioners Court is asking us once again to prove the safety of our system. We, at THK, are at something of a loss to explain the behavior of this Court. The county staff has attested to the safety of the system. The previous Commissioners Court has attested to the safety of the system. The state of Texas (via the TCEQ) has attested to the safety of the system. The system was designed by a qualified person well known to the county, with EHD reviewing and approving the design every step of the way.
According to Andy Grubbs, who designed the system, our OSSF is typical of many other restaurant septic systems currently in use in Hays County. If the Commissioners Court says our system, designed and built in accordance with state and county requirements, is unsafe, will they next go after other restaurants in the County? (See No Consistency for more details.)
Neighbor, O’Dell, and the majority of the Commissioners Court, who for their own political reasons oppose our permit, are claiming our system is unsafe because of the small lot size. The lot size alone does not determine the safe capacity of an OSSF. Only the size of the tanks and the capacity of the system as designed matter. Some neighboring counties don’t even mention lot size in their OSSF laws because the size of the system and its capacity are the only measure of its effectiveness and safety. Neighbor’s livestock generates more groundwater pollution than our septic system running at full capacity! The loss she claims she will suffer is a scientific impossibility. So why are her friends on the Court listening to her? Why do they continue to waste your tax dollars in fighting a perfectly safe system design that is already in use elsewhere in the County?
If the Commissioners Court does not accept as valid the legal opinions of their Special Counsel, nor the technical analysis of their EHD, nor the judgment of the state of Texas, how are we supposed to prove the safety of the system? Do you really believe, at this point, that this harassment by the Commissioners Court really has anything to do with public safety?
