Saturday, May 11, 2024
Single-family homeowners can now maintain their own septic systems upon completion of one of three qualifying classes, following a 3-1 vote from the Hood County Commissioners Court on Sept. 26.
For some, this new development has stoked fears of possible contamination of Lake Granbury and the state no longer allowing it to be a recreational lake, according to a previous article in the Hood County News.
Several questions and concerns about allowing homeowners this freedom as opposed to contracting with a knowledgeable service provider led to a few disagreements in the 30-minute discussion.
Four classes were placed on the agenda, but one was later removed by the recommendation of Hood County Environmental Health Director Jeannie Stacks, who claimed the Environmental Training Systems course was an advanced continuing education class and was not tailored for homeowners.
The three classes available for single-family homeowners who wish to maintain their own septic systems are: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (offered as an online course), Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) located in College Station, and Texas On-Site Wastewater Association (TOWA) located in Bridge City.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Nannette Samuelson said that approving these classes was a requirement based on the order that was approved by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) a few weeks prior.
Hood County Judge Ron Massingill then asked if anyone from the Brazos River Authority (BRA) would like to come up and speak on the topic.
Mike McClendon, regional manager for the BRA, explained that the BRA is an authorized agent that precludes homeowners from entering into maintenance agreements and taking care of their own systems unless they meet two qualifications: they must be a certified maintenance provider, and they must hold a class E wastewater license before being certified by the manufacturer of the aerobic system.
"Any measures that the Commissioners Court would take that would enhance the water quality of Lake Granbury BRA will be supported," he stated.
Massingill then asked McClendon if a Hood County resident lives in “close proximity” to Lake Granbury, and if they take one of these classes, would it “adequately protect” Lake Granbury?
"It all depends on the individual,” McClendon said. “But some of the organizations that you have up here are renowned for wastewater treatment, so it depends on the individual and how much they put into it in their system. There (are) some people that can operate it and that should be allowed to, but there's some that probably shouldn’t.”
Stacks followed by saying that residents who do live near the lake are required by the BRA to have chlorinators on their systems that would shut the entire system down if levels became too high and would remain off until the chlorination is back within the recommended levels.
"The Brazos River Authority’s rules are 75 feet from lakes and streams, TCEQ’s rules are 50 feet,” she stated. “In that instance, the Brazos River Authority's rules are actually more stringent.”
Massingill then asked for clarification from Stacks that homeowners who maintain their own septic systems must have a contract with a licensed maintenance provider.
Stacks said that was correct, until the new order took place. She explained that now homeowners who maintain their own septic systems have to have a contract with a licensed maintenance provider for the first two years.
She added that all other aerobic treatment systems, including commercial, multifamily systems, and speculative rental properties are required to have contracts with licensed maintenance providers per state law.
“If you have a duplex, you can't live in both sides of that duplex — you can only live in one side,” she explained. “So, you will be required by law to have a contract. Even though you are a licensed homeowner living in one side of that duplex, you're renting the other side out.”
Massingill then asked Stacks if the Hood County Environmental Health Department would be tasked with inspecting each On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) system to ensure that every homeowner is complying with the order.
“We have the right to enter any property that has a system every single time and inspect, so if the court requires that we inspect those systems once a year, we can do that,” she explained. “Other than that, we should be going off of what the reports say. If they turn in a fault, we can go check and see what that fault is. If we receive a report from a maintenance provider that says the area goes out, we go out and initiate a complaint and see if the aerator is still out, or if it hasn't been repaired.”
Samuelson said that Stacks is also in the process of posting the form on the Hood County Environmental Health Department’s website for residents who wish to take the class.
"(They'll) complete the form, take the class, provide evidence of the class, and sign an authorization that they are taking the responsibility for maintaining their system and that they understand what that means, as far as the frequency of testing and turning in the report, and they will file that with the Environmental Health Office,” Samuelson said.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle recited Texas Health and Safety Code 366.0515 (g), which states, “The owner of a single-family residence shall maintain the system directly or through a maintenance contract.”
“Even the state statute gives the homeowner of a single-family residence an option,” he said. “But it goes further than that.
“If you've got a population of at least 40,000, if there's a violation that occurs for a homeowner that's maintaining his own system, he's written up and has 10 days to fix it. If he fixes it, fine, everybody goes down the row. But that starts a three-year clock ticking that within three years, if he gets another violation, he must go contract with a provider. He gets a warning for the first time, he fixes it, it's fine. But if he gets another one, he has to go get a provider, and if he doesn't fix it, he has to go get a provider. So, that's the state rule right there.”
Eagle continued by saying he knows there’s concern about being in close proximity to a lake but said that his argument has always been for stronger regulations.
"Does it really fix anything? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't,” he said. “I think that we've got something here that matters. I would hope that's reasonable, but that's between what we have and what the state allows. I assume that people are going to do the right thing, and the government tends to assume they're going to do the wrong thing, and I just don't agree with that."
Massingill then asked Precinct 1 Commissioner Kevin Andrews if he received an email from Hood County resident Todd Garner.
“Basically, the question is, how will it benefit the quality of Lake Granbury?” Andrews said, before summarizing Garner’s questions. “’How many areas in the state of Texas allow homeowner maintenance? How many BRA watersheds allow homeowner maintenance? Has a recommendation come from the Brazos River Authority concerning the change in the policy and the effect that would have on Lake Granbury?’ Actually, I think for the two questions, the vast majority of the state allows homeowner inspections.”
Following more discussion, Massingill stated that he is opposed to “any homeowner that's close to the lake maintaining their own aerobic septic system, period.”
“I think that Lake Granbury is so important to Hood County and the city of Granbury,” he said. “I'm totally against this, and we'll see. It may be too late to do anything about it if people do not inspect their system and do what they're supposed to do.”
Samuelson then reminded the public that requirements for testing or reporting on the status of each homeowner’s sewage system have not changed.
"Jeannie still has all her authority to cite individuals, homeowners, septic providers, and maintenance providers if they're not doing the job,” she said. “Nothing along those lines have changed.”
Massingill then asked about the current test results for Lake Granbury, as he was concerned about potential contamination.
“It is my understanding that there are three testing pods on Lake Granbury at this point,” Stacks said. “One is at the 51 bridge, one is at the 377 bridge and other one is at the dam. Those are the only places that are currently being tested.”
When asked if any of the three were showing problems, Stacks said the Highway 51 bridge “has been increasing” over the last few years, but she didn’t have her current numbers in front of her.
Samuelson then talked about a professor from Texas A&M University, Anish Jantrania, who came to speak at a previous Hood County Commissioners Court meeting.
“He came up and talked to us a few months back when we weren't finished with the process,” she said. “His comments were what he's seen across the state is that when homeowners are trained to do their own maintenance, the status actually improves so coming from someone who that's their life and their profession, that was a really good thing to hear.”
Andrews chimed in next by saying an “educated homeowner is the best weapon” against a contamination problem.
“The vast majority of people I know don't want to live in their own sewage,” he said. “They're willing to take care of this. There needs to be enforcement for those that don't, but let people do the right thing. I clean my house; I expect other people to do it, too.”
“Only time will tell,” Massingill said. “It may be too late.”
Samuelson then made the motion to approve the qualifying classes excluding the Environmental Training Systems.
With Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson absent, the motion passed with a 3-1 vote, with Massingill voting “No.”
ashley@hcnews.com | 817-573-1243
