Kerr County moves to close septic permit loophole as online claims outpace the facts

Kerr County is moving to require septic permits for all new construction, closing a long-standing loophole for large tracts — a narrow change that has set off an outsized online reaction, including a Kerrville Breaking News post with more than 100 comments built largely on claims the proposal does not contain.

The order before the Commissioners Court is limited in scope. It would require a permit for every new on-site sewage facility regardless of lot size, eliminating an exemption that has let single-family homes on tracts larger than 10 acres skip permitting. It applies to future construction, and it does not, by the county’s account, require owners of existing systems to do anything.

The online response ran hot. Commenters accused the county of a money grab, warned of a $250 charge every time a septic system is “touched” and claimed existing systems would lose their grandfathered status. Some confused the city of Kerrville’s municipal sewer system with the county’s septic permitting — two separate matters. None of those specific claims appears in the order.

What the order says is narrower. Its only fee provision references the standard $10 state surcharge that every Texas septic permit carries. Under state rules, a permit is required to construct, install, alter or repair a system — not to pump or maintain one. Environmental Health Director Ashli Badders told commissioners June 22 the change applies only to future construction and would not affect existing systems or smaller lots that already require permits.

The accusations about money did not come from nowhere, though. The county has openly discussed charging more for septic permits — just not through this order.

At a May 21 budget workshop, Environmental Health’s Mario Ramirez described working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the court to require permits for all septic systems in the county. Kerr County currently charges no permit fee for some systems, unlike neighboring counties. Officials said expanding permitting would create an “additional revenue stream” for the general fund that does not rely on local taxation, and commissioners said the public would need to be “primed” for what was described as “substantial increases in permitting fees.” Those fee decisions sit on a separate track from this order and were not slated for the current budget cycle.

The change before the court has been in motion for weeks. TCEQ approved the county’s proposed amendments June 4. On June 22, commissioners took two unanimous 4-0 votes — one authorizing publication of the public notice in the Hill Country Community Journal, and one setting a formal public hearing.

Badders tied the loophole’s growth to the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, which changed its rules to require a minimum of 10 acres to drill a water well. That shift, she said, pushed more building onto large tracts that could then bypass septic permitting entirely. The order’s new Section 9 removes the local exemption.

The county also has an unusual administrative hurdle to clear. TCEQ requires certified minutes from the day the order is adopted, and the agency does not accept the automated transcripts generated from the county’s YouTube broadcasts. Because the county does not typically use a court reporter, commissioners agreed to hire one to document the adoption.

The public hearing is set for Monday, July 13, at 9:30 a.m. in the Commissioners Court Room, where residents can comment before the court votes on final adoption. The draft order is available at the county clerk’s office, the environmental health office and on the county website.