Williamson County approves task force recommendations to ease septic rules, forward changes to Board of Health

The Williamson County Board of Commissioners on May 11 approved a package of recommendations from a subsurface-sewage task force intended to reduce costs and shorten approval times for septic systems. The 24-0 vote forwards the task-force report to the county Board of Health for rulemaking, commissioners said.

Task-force presenter Mike Mattson summarized the work that produced roughly 60 recommendations and said six of those changes have already been adopted by the Board of Health, including raising certain allowable square-footage for nonconforming systems, allowing more than one structure to use an existing septic system and adopting state setback requirements. "Cumulatively, these recommendations already adopted really result in a lot of cost savings, greater flexibility, and ... allow people to make better use of their property," Mattson said.

Mattson also outlined recommended next steps: documentation pathways for previously undocumented systems; authorization of chamber systems as a permitted technology; permitting changes that would defer some soil-modification work until a backup system is needed; and allowing systems on steeper slopes up to the 30% the state permits. He said the task-force recommendations will be taken to the Board of Health in batches beginning next month.

Commissioners and industry stakeholders pressed for clarification on paragraph 27 of the report, which addresses whether private soil scientists must perform soil mapping for new systems while county staff would be limited to repairs. "That is a topic where we know there are differences of opinion," Mattson said, adding that staff-level assessments could be used in certain circumstances and the matter will be revisited as implementation proceeds.

Members of the public who build or repair septic systems told commissioners that requiring private soil maps for new construction could increase costs and delay permits. Builder Noel Jones warned the board that a single-track approach favoring private soil scientists over staff assessments could "improve speed and cost to citizens less money to be able to use the soil scientists that we already pay for." In response, commissioners said the changes are intended to balance environmental protection and cost, and that the county recently improved turnaround times on plat reviews from months to about two weeks.

Several commissioners praised the task force’s deliberative process and its volunteer members. Commissioner Greg Lawrence said he reviewed years of constituent complaints and called the recommendations "real common-sense solutions." The commission approved the motion to forward the report to the Board of Health by a 24-0 vote.

The Board of Health will receive the recommendations and pursue formal rule changes; the county’s staff and a newly hired director will play roles in implementing and re-evaluating staff-versus-private mapping authority as the rules are applied.