Friday, April 26, 2024
Retired 355th District Judge Ralph Walton, acting as a visiting judge, has ruled in favor of the county in a lawsuit against Hood County Republican Party Chair Steve Biggers.
Bryan Bufkin, the current district judge and a Republican, recused himself from the case.
The county claimed that the on-site sewage disposal system at Biggers’ home off Highway 51 has not been maintained in accordance with county regulations adopted by the Commissioners Court in 2014 and approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Biggers has publicly stated on multiple occasions that he believes that properly trained homeowners should be able to conduct their own aerobic septic system maintenance rather than being forced to contract for those services.
In order to comply with the county’s regulations, a homeowner must either have a maintenance contract with a licensed provider or carry a maintenance provider license.
Testimony at the Monday, June 27 court hearing revealed that Biggers took a one-day training through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service but did not take the two-day maintenance provider training offered through the Texas Onsite Wastewater Association, which is the training the county requires.
The shorter Texas A&M AgriLife training is accepted by some counties, but Environmental Health Director Jeannie Stacks said that the Texas Health and Safety Code allows county governments to enforce stricter rules than other counties or state agencies if they so choose.
Hood County officials have expressed concern over the possible devastating impacts to the county if Lake Granbury becomes contaminated due to improperly maintained septic systems.
DAY IN COURT
Biggers represented himself during the hearing.
Stacks was the only witness who testified. She was questioned by both Biggers and County Attorney Matt Mills.
In an affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Stacks claimed that Biggers had been in violation of the county’s rules for about three years.
Testimony and evidence revealed that in 2016, Biggers filed an affidavit with the county stating that he would keep a maintenance contract. In 2019, he filed his Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service certificate with that office.
That same year, 2019, a case against Biggers was filed by the county in the Precinct 4 justice of the peace court. The case was granted a continuance due to an upcoming Commissioners Court meeting at which possible changes to regulations would be discussed, Stacks said.
An agenda item on that topic was placed on the Feb. 11, 2020, agenda at the request of Stacks and Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle.
The court tabled the item but Stacks testified that it was her understanding that Biggers agreed during the discussion to take the TOWA class.
Biggers denied having done so.
In further explaining the timeline, Stacks stated that the COVID-19 pandemic affected TOWA classes and she assumed that Biggers would take the class in 2021. However, that didn’t happen.
Stacks said that in late 2021, she began communicating with the county attorney’s office about how best to deal with the situation. She noted that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality “complained” about Biggers’ noncompliance.
Biggers implied that Stacks had affirmed him as a qualified maintenance provider for his home septic system when he filed the Texas A&M AgriLife certificate with her office.
Stacks stated that her office accepts all paperwork received and files it.
On March 22, another discussion about possibly changing rules for septic systems was placed on a Commissioners Court agenda by Precinct 1 Commissioner Kevin Andrews.
After a discussion that again involved Biggers, Andrews made a motion to submit proposed rule changes to TCEQ. Eagle seconded the motion. It failed with the votes of County Judge Ron Massingill, Precinct 2 Commissioner Ron Cotton and Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson.
Stacks testified that on Monday, March 28, Biggers came to the Environmental Health office and stated that “as soon as Mark Shackelford was elected” county judge, Biggers was going to eliminate that department.
According to Stacks, Biggers claimed that no one would prosecute him because he had “two commissioners” in his “back pocket.”
Shackelford recently lost the Republican runoff to Massingill, who will face no Democratic challenger on the November ballot in his bid for a second term.
After that statement by Stacks, Biggers indicated to Walton that he had no further questions for her.
Walton then approved the county’s request for an injunction, giving Biggers approximately 30 days to comply before a permanent injunction goes into effect Aug. 1.
Mills told the Hood County News in an email: “As I understand it, he'll need to take the class or get a maintenance contract by that date mentioned. If he doesn't, we could consider a further hearing for the judge to hold him in contempt for failing to abide by the order. Hopefully it won't go to court again.”
