Building Outside City Limits Requires a Septic Permit

If your property is not hooked up to a city sewer, you need an on-site sewage facility — most often a septic system. In Texas, you must get a permit before you install, repair, or change one. This type of system is also called an OSSF. Before the permit is issued, someone checks the soil and measures how far the system must be from wells and property lines.

In Lamar County, a local permitting authority handles these permits. If no local authority is in place, the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) regional office takes over. Installing a system without a permit can mean fines. You may also have to tear the system out and start over. Before buying rural land or planning to build, find out who issues permits in that area and whether the soil will pass the required test.