ORDERS:
FINAL ORDER AND DECISION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This matter comes before me upon petition for hearing following the denial of an Individual
Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Permit application for 160 Mossy Road, Summerville,
South Carolina, by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
A hearing was held at the Charleston County Judicial Center on December 17, 1997. Upon review
of the relevant and probative evidence and applicable law, Petitioner's application is denied.
FINDINGS OF FACT
By a preponderance of the evidence, I find:
The Petitioner is the owner of the lot at 160 Mossy Road, Summerville, South
Carolina ("the property"), as shown on Dorchester County Tax Map 121-00-00-002.
The Petitioner applied to DHEC for an Individual Sewage Treatment and Disposal
System Permit (septic-tank permit), Number 97-0268, for the property on August 25, 1997.
The Petitioner has applied to DHEC for septic-tank permits several times since 1985.
The Petitioner seeks the permit to allow construction of a septic tank to treat and
dispose of wastewater from the Petitioner's residence.
Upon receipt of the application, Mark Marriner of DHEC's Bureau of Environmental
Health and Pete Dunlap, supervisor of the wastewater program for the Dorchester County Division
of Environmental Health, evaluated the property to determine if the soil and site conditions would
support septic-tank system installation, in accordance with South Carolina regulations.
Marriner had visited the property to evaluate the property for installation of a septic
tank in 1985, 1986 and 1992.
Both the hydrology and geology of the site render the property unable to support the
installation of any septic-tank system.
During DHEC inspections to the property, twenty-one soil borings were taken to
determine the seasonal high water table and the soil type.
Soil borings indicate that the property's seasonal high water table reaches less than
twelve inches below the surface.
As the seasonal high water table at the property rises to less than twelve inches
below the natural ground surface, if a septic tank were installed, the maximum seasonal high water
table level would by necessity be less than six inches below the bottom of the soil absorption
trenches. Therefore, the property does not have sufficient depth to support a septic-tank system.
No area on the property is suitable for a conventional septic-tank system.
The seasonal high water table is deep enough in one area to suggest that an
alternative septic-tank system may be feasible; however, the area is not large enough to support the
drain lines that would be required for an alternative system.
Marriner and Dunlap determined that suitable soil conditions could not be identified
throughout an area large enough for the installation of a final disposal system.
Petitioner has not requested DHEC to inspect any adjoining property to determine
if it could be used to support a septic tank system for the subject lot.
The sloping terrain of the site renders the property unsuitable for an ultra-shallow
system.
Because of the unpredictability of fill materials, it is unknown whether the addition
of fill dirt to the property would ultimately render the property suitable.
The Petitioner did not offer any evidence whatsoever to establish that the property
meets the necessary criteria for permitting.
The property is unsuitable for any type of septic-tank system.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Based upon the above Findings of Fact, I conclude as a matter of law, the following:
The Administrative Law Judge Division has subject-matter jurisdiction in this action
pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §§ 1-23-310 et seq. (1986 & Supp. 1996); cf. S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 61-72 §§ 501 & 502 (Supp. 1996).
"The State of South Carolina has a substantial interest in maintaining reasonable
standards of purity of the air and water resources of the State." South Carolina Dep't of Health and
Envt'l Control v. Armstrong, 293 S.C. 209, 214, 359 S.E.2d 302, 304-05 (Ct. App. 1987) (citing S.C. Code Ann. § 48-1-20 (1976)).
DHEC "is authorized to take action to abate, control and prevent pollution of the air
and water resources of this State consistent with the public health, safety and welfare of its
citizens." South Carolina Dep't of Health and Envt'l Control v. Armstrong, 293 S.C. 209, 214, 359
S.E.2d 302, 305 (Ct. App. 1987) (citing Harper v. Schooler, 250 S.C. 486, 189 S.E.2d 284 (1972)).
DHEC may "[i]ssue, deny, revoke, suspend or modify permits, under such conditions
as it may prescribe for the discharge of sewage, industrial waste or other waste or air contaminants
or for the installation or operation of disposal systems or sources or parts thereof. . . ." S.C. Code
Ann. § 48-1-50(5) (1976).
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-1-140 (1985) authorizes DHEC to promulgate septic-tank
regulations.
S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 61-56 (1976) governs individual waste-disposal systems and
the issuance of permits for septic tanks "to treat and dispose of all human waste so that no
opportunity will exist for contamination of water or food, or transmission of human waste by flies
or other vectors."
"The maximum seasonal high water table elevation shall not be less than six (6)
inches below the bottom of the proposed soil absorption trenches or alternate system." S.C. Code
Regs. 61-56 § V(B).
"Depth to rock and other restrictive horizons shall be greater than one (1) foot below
the bottom of the proposed absorption trenches or alternate system." S.C. Code Regs. 61-56 §
V(C).
Where conditions warrant, alternate systems may be permitted if they meet standards
established by DHEC.
The property known as 160 Mossy Road, Summerville, South Carolina, as shown
on Dorchester County Tax Map 121-00-00-002, does not meet the minimum site conditions for an
individual sewage treatment and disposal system under S.C. Code Regs. 61-56, § V.
Any issues raised or presented in the proceedings or hearing of this case not
specifically addressed in this Order are deemed denied. ALJD Rule 29(B).
ORDER
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the septic tank permit application filed by Petitioner
is hereby denied.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
__________________________________
STEPHEN P. BATES
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
January 12, 1998
Columbia, South Carolina |
