Issue Summary

It is understood in the American legal system that there will be times when people have differing opinions.  Hence, many government actions, such as the permitting process, allow for appeals to be filed so that there is a means by which to address differing opinions.  However, the hallmark of an appeals process is that it has finality.  There has to be some point at which the process ends.  Otherwise, someone could just appeal forever and prevent a fair adjudication from taking place.   In this case, Judge Sumter and Commissioners Ingalsbe and Ford are taking that position that they have the right to adjudicate any issue whenever they want, even if it has already been appealed. In so doing, they are saying that property rights do not vest at the point in time that a permit is issued or an appeal denied. Their vote to revoke our permit indicates they feel they have the right to go back and readjudicate, even if a prior Commissioners Court has granted the permit and denied an appeal.  This is tantamount to saying that they have a never-ending right to review and control your property rights.

Details

Hays County OSSF rules allow for an appeals process.  The EHD is responsible for permitting prospective property owners for on-site septic systems.  Once a permit is issued, a citizen who opposes the permit has the right to appeal to the Commissioners Court.  If that appeal is denied, the citizen has the right to sue in District Court.  Though not part of the appeals process, a citizen also has the right to file a complaint with TCEQ.  TCEQ has the right to review the local EHD since they are acting as agent for TCEQ.  TCEQ could rule that the actions of the local EHD are inappropriate.   In this case, a permit was issued to us by EHD, Permit No. 2005-416 on February, 22, 2006.  Neighbor filed an appeal, which was reviewed in Commissioners Court.  On July 11, 2006, the previous Commissioners Court unanimously denied this appeal.  Oddly, on July 18, 2006, one week later, Commissioner Ingalsbe made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to deny any additional permits or license to operate to Nickolous [sic] Ramus.” The motion failed.   Following the July 2006 Commissioner Court reviews, TCEQ performed a review of the septic system at the request of Commissioner Ingalsbe.  On July 27, 2006, TCEQ wrote to Commissioner Ingalsbe, “It is our opinion that the Chapter 285 rules were followed by Hays County, as TCEQ’s AA, in making its decision with regard to the issuance of this permit.”  In other words, the EHD acted correctly.   No timely appeal was ever filed in District Court arguing against the Commissioners Court’s decision.  Therefore, the appeal process was finished, our permit was valid, and our rights were upheld.   Amazingly, on April 17, 2007, Commissioners Court met in closed executive session, without notice to the public or THK, and voted 3-2 (Sumter, Ingalsbe and Ford, for, Conley and Barton, against) to revoke our permit. No reason was ever provided to us for the action, just that we were no longer allowed to operate the septic system we had designed and built, at great cost, and in full cooperation with all requirements of EHD.   Judge Sumter and Commissioners Ingalsbe and Ford apparently feel that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.  In taking this action, they are putting the people of Hays County on notice that they reserve the right to take your property rights whenever they want for no reason, without compensation.  That is exactly what they did to Texas Heritage Kitchen. Stop the power grab! See What You Can Do for more details.