ORDERS:
DECISION AND ORDER
STATEMENT OF CASE
This matter comes before me pursuant to the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control's (DHEC) denial of the Petitioner's sewage treatment and disposal system
permit application for property located on Highway 151 in Fairfield County. A hearing was held
on August 30, 1995, at the office of the Administrative Law Judge Division, 1205 Pendleton
Street, Columbia, South Carolina. I find that DHEC properly denied the Petitioner's application
because the property is not suitable for an individual sewage treatment and disposal system.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Having observed the witnesses and exhibits presented at the hearing and closely passed upon their
credibility, taking into consideration the burden of persuasion by the Parties or Protestants, I
make the following Findings of Fact by a preponderance of evidence:
1. The Petitioner applied to DHEC for an individual sewage treatment and disposal system permit
for his proposed residence on Highway 151 in Fairfield County.
2. Heyward Maddox, Fairfield County Supervisor of DHEC's Environmental Health Services,
went to the Respondent's property on February 2, 1995. There he conducted soil borings which
reflected inadequate soil texture to approve the Petitioner's application. In an effort to ensure the
accuracy of his determination, Mr. Maddox returned to the property site on March 7, 1995, after
the Petitioner marked the property lines and the proposed location of his home. Mr. Maddox
conducted three more soil borings, which again indicated the soil was inadequate for a sewage
system because of a shallow seasonal water table. After making that determination, Mr. Maddox
requested Dale Hutto to accompany him to the Petitioner's property where Mr. Hutto took soil
borings to determine whether the soil would support a sewage system. Mr. Hutto's findings again
confirmed that the soil was inadequate to support a sewage system.
3. Heyward Maddox again returned to the Petitioner's property on April 13, 1995, after the
Petitioner cleared his lot and submitted a plat indicating his property lines. There Mr.. Maddox
performed four soil borings which indicated the property would not support a sewage system
because of a shallow seasonal water table.
4. The Petitioner appealed Mr. Maddox' determination to DHEC. Leonard Gordon, Appeals
Review Officer for DHEC, visited the property and met with the Petitioner on May 3, 1995. At
that time, Mr. Gordon conducted three soil borings which indicated water tables respectively, at
eighteen (18) inches, thirteen (13) inches and fifteen (15) inches. Mr. Gordon found that no
system approved by DHEC will work upon this property.
5. DHEC approves basically three sewage treatment and disposal systems. A conventional
system requires that the maximum seasonal high water table for the proposed site be at least
twenty-nine (29) inches below the natural ground level to accommodate the system. DHEC also
has approved an alternative system which requires the maximum seasonal high-water table be at
least twenty-three (23) inches below the natural ground level to accommodate that system. The
final option for this property was DHEC's experimental system. None of these systems will work
upon the Petitioner's proposed property because of the combination of the water table height, the
slope of the land and the soil texture found upon the property.
6. The Petitioner questioned Mr. Gordon whether he could pump the sewage out and haul it off.
The "pump and haul" method, however, is not acceptable by DHEC as a permanent method of
disposing of sewage. Furthermore, the mere volume of sewage that would have to be hauled off
from this property site constitutes an unfeasible option.
7. The Respondent testified that after listening to the reasons submitted at the hearing as to why
DHEC denied his permit, he now has no objection to DHEC's denial of the permit.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Based upon the above findings of fact, I conclude as a matter of law the following:
1. The Administrative Law Judge Division has subject matter jurisdiction in this action pursuant
to S.C. Code §§ 1-23-600 (B) and 48-1-50 (Rev. 1986 and Supp. 1994).
2. S.C. Code Ann. §44-1-140 (11)(1976) provides the authority for DHEC to promulgate
regulations relating to sewage treatment and disposal system. Those regulations are promulgated
in S.C. Code Regs. 61-56 (1976). The Petitioner's property is located on Highway 151 in
Fairfield County and does not meet minimum site conditions or requirements for an individual
sewage treatment and disposal system under Regulation 61-56.
ORDER
Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, It is hereby:
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the septic tank permit application of Carl D. Butler be
denied.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
__________________________________
Ralph King Anderson, III
Administrative Law Judge
Columbia, South Carolina
October 5, 1995 |
