The Comal County Environmental Health Department reviews all designs by registered sanitarians and professional engineers for onsite septic construction. The department is charged with the issuing of on-site sewage facility permits, as well as the enforcement of county and state laws and regulations. The department also responds to complaints concerning health violations in illegal waste water dumping and other nuisances.

Before building, altering, extending or operating an on-site sewage facility, a person must have a permit and approved plans from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) or its authorized agent. A qualified site evaluator must conduct a site and soil evaluation. The system must be planned by a person authorized by the permitting authority under current regulation.

The TCEQ is the lead environmental agency for the state of Texas and to find out quickly when new rule making items have been added to the TCEQ's Rules Web pages, you can do so by checking this page regularly.

Before building, altering, extending or operating an on-site sewage facility, a person must have a permit and approved plans from the TCEQ or its authorized agent.

The permitting process is comprised of nine steps that need to be followed when installing an on-site system. The various players - site evaluator, designer, installer and designated representative - should work as checks and balances to ensure that an appropriate technology is built at the site. These steps are a safeguard to ensure that the homeowner receives a quality product.

Please see "Permitting Process" under Septic Systems in the top menu.