Where our septic information comes from

How we write these guides

Every page on this site is written from public sources, not from the experience of any one contractor. East Texas Septic Service is a free service, not a septic company, so we have no technicians of our own and nothing on the site is a quote, a promise or a guarantee from a provider.

We follow a few rules on every page:

• Facts about how septic systems work and how often to pump come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• Texas rules on permits, licensing and aerobic maintenance come from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Texas Administrative Code and Texas statutes.
• County permit details come from the county’s own website, or from TCEQ’s authorized agent lookup when a county page could not be verified.
• Prices are national ranges from named cost guides, labelled as national, never invented local prices.
• Each service and guide page lists its sources at the bottom, and pages are reviewed when a cited source changes.

Federal sources

The EPA’s SepticSmart program is the main reference for how septic systems work and how to care for them:

• How your septic system works
• How to care for your septic system
• Septic system care and maintenance

Texas sources

Texas regulates septic systems as on-site sewage facilities (OSSFs), and these are the state sources the site relies on:

• TCEQ: OSSF permits, including site evaluation and the 30 day permit review
• TCEQ: OSSF maintenance, including aerobic maintenance contracts and chlorine rules
• TCEQ: authorized agent lookup by county
• 30 TAC 285.32, the criteria for sewage treatment systems, including the NSF Standard 40 Class I listing rule for aerobic treatment units (text via Cornell’s Legal Information Institute)
• Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366, the state law on on-site sewage disposal systems
• Texas Property Code Section 5.008, the seller’s disclosure requirement
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension OSSF program, training and homeowner education on on-site systems

County offices

County permit offices are linked on the matching town pages:

• Gregg County septic systems (Longview, Kilgore, Gladewater, White Oak)
• Harrison County Environmental Health (Marshall, Hallsville and the Harrison County side of Longview)
• Rusk County septic inspection (Henderson and the Rusk County side of Kilgore)
• Northeast Texas Municipal Water District onsite septic program, the designated representative for Upshur County (Gilmer and the Upshur side of Gladewater)
• For Smith, Van Zandt, Wood and Cherokee counties, the town pages point to TCEQ’s authorized agent lookup, which lists the current permitting office.

Cost data

All prices on this site are national ranges from these cost guides, and local quotes vary:

• HomeGuide: septic system cost
• HomeGuide: septic tank pumping cost
• HomeGuide: septic tank repair cost
• HomeGuide: septic inspection cost
• HomeAdvisor: cost to install a septic system
• HomeAdvisor: septic tank repair cost
• Fixr: septic tank cleaning cost and septic tank repair cost

Corrections

If a fact on this site is out of date or wrong, email hello@easttexassepticservice.com with the page and the source, and we will check it against the source and correct the page. The about page explains how our service works.