Who do I contact to find out if I can install a composting toilet?

Do I contact the city or the county? I'm having a hard time finding information online. We're building a small house outside city limits in Texas. I need to know if I can set up a composting toilet, if I need a septic system for some reason, and if I can use my greywater for irrigation. Also, what department would I need to contact? thanks!

I would start with the county. If you're outside the city limits, I don't see how a city would have an jurisdiction over you. I used to live in a tiny subdivision sandwiched between Cedar Park and Austin. The whole division was on septic and neither city wanted to take responsibility for running sewer there, so neither city was annexing it. We were able to set off fireworks each year (so long as there wasn't a county burn ban) because we were outside the city limits, despite being right in the middle of an urban environment.

I find this a weird question. Why do you need someone's permission? I thought the USA was the land of the free?

I cannot speak for Texas, but for Maryland this is what happened in 1999 when I moved here.   It was the health department that I had to deal with.  The residence had to comply with all modern health codes.  That meant septic, etc.   The explanation I was given was that they would not give me a residency permit on the property that did not meet code as, at a later date, i might want to use the regular toilet.  So a septic and drainage field was installed based on the number of bedrooms and baths.  

So basically, I had to comply with all modern code and hook-ups.   After it was installed, the health police doesn't patrol my restroom to verify I use it the modern wasteful way.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Nancy and would start with a visit or call to the county health department folks. Ten to one you will be in the same situation as she was in Maryland. You'll likely have to comply with having a working septic system to get an "occupancy certificate" or whatever they call it there.
I would add in an extra "wash room" that has a sink for the needed cleaning of hands after doing your business and a space to put your composting toilet, without telling the occupancy folks what it is for past being a hand washing station and changing room for when extra folks are around.

Yep county health dept is typically the folks to contact. If for some reason your area has a different dept handling that issue, they will know who to send you to.

My area was the health department but they gave it over to the municipal building department. We got them to lower our minimum square footage bylaw to 500, I think it should be abolished altogether but this is a start, I think it is probably past time to prod them about alternative sanitation. Any jurisdiction that says an outhouse is ok should be happy to explore composting alternatives.

Your question is already answered, BUT.... I'd like to lend what I learned. First off, I am "county".... meaning outside city limits.  Sanitation is the issue for the Health Dept, as is septic.  I (paid their fee and) got the septic requirements, but asked how it would effect those requirements (length of drain pipe and sf of field, etc) if I 1) used a commercial compost toilet, and collected rainwater and thus 3) only had greywater to dispose of.  

Interestingly, the response to #3 was "well, disposing of dishwater or small amounts of other (NON TOXIC) water is like camping, you'd just toss it on the ground".  I intend to discharge to a drywell away from the cabin. (Maybe 4' square, couple feel deep, gravel under dirt)

I was careful to say "COMMERCIAL" composting toilet, because my first conversation with the official lead him to tell me that "people just end up with buckets of [poo] piled up" with the sawdust method, and I thought I should stay away from the issue.  However, whenI said that the formal septic would have to wait regardless, he was willing to grant an exemption for the septic.  My end goal build is very sustainable, and my cabin is a halfway point.  When he acknowledged that, he wrote the septic requirements for the smaller end goal and granted me the exemption so I could get electric brought in.

Curiously, and sorry if I've mislead anyone, but he said he'd have to check on the septic allowance for compost toilet.  He would have to check, but might take a certain number of feet out of the discharge pipe.  It didn't sound like it would be measureable, and - with the exemption - I didn't need to pursue it.

Please note - I was asked to sign and notarize an affadavit stating I would not discharge sewage on the property, and had a stern warning from the official on what might happen if he ever got a call reporting it.  

If the exemption would be available, and greywater can be handled responsibly, you are good.

All Jenkins system users can state categorically that we do not discharge sewage onto our property. We add compostables to our compost pile. Not even close to the same thing.

I want to clarify what seems is interpretted as a criticism of Jenkins toilets, and detach the comment about "buckets of poo" from the Jenkins.  This from my earlier post......  

It was the comment of the sanitation engineer at County level, saying that compost toilet users collected buckets.   While the intent of the Jenkins "Loveable Loo" toilet is to compost and create humanure, his point (and I must beleive it has merit) is that, many people "think they want to" do it, but don't...   I would say the commentor

My statement, and the affadavit made to my County engineer to "not discharge sewage" satisfied them.  I would never, you would never, and Jenkins users who really use them as designed, WOULD NEVER EVER discharge sewage to property.   My comment was to show how their thinking was.  The fact that I had to go "all the way there" (making the affadavit), proves how far they are away from - or how many times they've been burned by well-intentioned people - accepting composting as an option.

Also, in the area (Kentucky) outhouses are totally acceptable and have been in use - and still are in use - for a hundred years and maybe more.

I apologize that my post sounded critical of any Jenkins users (I have been in the past too), or any compost toilet user, or any composter.

I have not read all the responses, there are many arbitrary comments replied. non-state, non-county.  arbitrary advice.  You say Texas but not the county or city...  I am in Travis county near Dripping Springs.  Who can I contact about a composting Permit instead of septic.  How to get a permit stated for composting toilet instead of a septic for a workshop.  

Look up the building codes officer for your area and contact them.  Edit to say the codes person will be able to tell you if they are allowed or not and you can ask what the procedure for getting them accepted is.

Hi Haley,

I live outside of the city limits in Texas. I contacted my county's development services department to try to get a variance for a composting toilet. The county didn't have their own regulations but instead used the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulations.

Here's a link to the TCEQ's On site sewage facility (OSSF) rules

Per that document composting toilets need to be NSF certified. Here's a link to that list. They all cost significantly more than a Home Depot bucket.

The kicker is that even if you have a composting toilet you'll still need an OSSF (septic system) because kitchen sink/dish washing machine  water and the water from the bathroom lavatory is considered black water in Texas. You can install a separate gray water system for the shower and clothes washing machine and try to get a variance for a reduced size OSSF but you need to have a master plumber inspect and sign off that your gray water and black water systems are completely separate.

The good news is that enforcement is probably pretty lax (it is here at least) and once you have an OSSF permitted and installed you can most likely do whatever you want.

So do you have a septic and composting toilet?  I'm building a work shop but intend on converting the two sections 12x 24 and 8x 30 (its in an L shape)  into tiny homes one day and even converting the shed (10x12) into a room.  I thought I should get a septic design so I would know where one would have to go before I start on the workshop, but I really thought that a composting toilet would save water and be a better environmental path as well as solar instead of PEC (electrical company out here in Dripping Springs TX).  I had no idea that kitchen water is considered black water.  My plumbing initially will be very minimal.  

I'm just starting, I have to get water and electricity out to the lot first.  But this post did help, thanks!  

So do you have a septic and composting toilet?

Officially, I am just permitted for a conventional septic system. I hired a engineer to my present a case for a composting toilet with a reduced size septic system to the county but wasn't successful. They wanted an NSF approved composting toilet and a standard size septic system. So, I opted for the smallest conventional septic system allowable. I have received an authorization to construct but haven't done it yet.

My impression is that while the county is unwilling to approve anything outside of accepted standards once a septic system is inspected and approved if you modify it they won't enforce regulations unless they received a complaint.

Look for a company that states it has had dealings with the County folk.  Sometimes they have the right person to talk to.  In Australia, we have a company that installs worm composting septic systems.  On their site, they have a list covering each local government council they have dealt with.  I am wondering if there is a site on Permies where this sort of information could be consolidated?.  Under the "be nice" policy, contributors could give bouquets to counties that have great regulations which support homesteading or good environmental stewardship.

This may also inform those looking to move to consider these jurisdictions early in their planning.

Thank you to those of you who revived this old thread. I was just contemplating doing greywater and alternative toilet (my husband wanted to try this incinerator type...) in lieu of septic... but alas, being in Texas looks like we have to get a septic regardless.

Which sucks... was really looking forward to cutting some cost on our build since we wanted to do greywater anyway.

Mortgage holders (Banks) and county gov are a business and they have to think about the cash flow of the house after the initial owner is replaced. So that is why they have these standardized bare minimum setups, that makes the house easy to resell. Now once it is approved. For the most part they don't care what you do unless someone complains.

I know that the $3,000 for a septic system is alot but at the same time it isn't just think of it as a tax/permit fee, so that the gov/bank can quickly make a money after you leave it. Afterwards we are free to make our own environmentally friendly alterations afterwards.

Average Septic Cost.
$1,500 Septic Tank
$2,000 Drain field/Pipes/Home Depot Toilet

Yes it is true that if you are building in a wetland the septic system will cost more. But is it ecological for us to build a house in a wetland, and if we do, at the very least on paper cant we just pay the extra $500 for a lift station pump to sent the sewage to higher/drier grounds and if there is none, then we will have to build said higher/drier mound. for maybe an extra $1,000.

From a monetary standpoint most NSF composting toilet cost a couple thousand dollar. And they will only authorize NSF/commercial toilet. If you do get an advance septic tank system (think vermicomposting/aerobic system/etc), it will most likely require a costly contract with the installer that has to come by every 3months or so.

If you are going to ask for an exemption, things that will help is not show up with all your kids. Try your best to make you house only 1bedroom on paper, instead call your additional bedrooms .... study room, family room, dining room, library, office, sewing room. They tend to prefer giving exemptions to 10acres+ or to folks who give off a vibe that says: older, artsy, wealthy, maybe this is my 2nd home.

But not all hope is lost I know that recently Washington State allowed non-NSF composting toilets after folks pressured the state. Yes cities and counties still get to have their own local say in the matter but at least it helps.

I think you need to ask the
COMPOST CONTROLLER!!

I am not sure where the discussion is going.
What have banks got to do with septic tanks.
I see the use of septics or composters as a matter of personnel and public health, nothing less.

Yes in the truest sense a bank has no part to do with a house/septic system, but most times they are stakeholders in a house, unless one is building cash vs with a construction loan/mortgage.

Sadly when someone goes to a bank to get money to build a house, they also have stipulation. And the more unconventional the structure is the less likely they will be to lend you the money or the higher interest rate that they will charge. Or they will require that you get a structural engineer or a $3,000 NSF commercial composting toilet, etc.  The rules that governments adapt are also influence by regular people who request things and by universities and corporation that lobby.

In the USA, whenever the electric company installs a meter, they legally have to report it to the septic agency for them to show up and figure out whats happening on your property. We surely have some corporation-government partnerships that maybe doesn't exist in other places.

@Rebecca
If you have a single family house (e.g 3000sqft), with an accessory structure (50% of 3000sqft). The rules are simple it is just for a single family. But once you start having more the rules change and if you have say 2 tiny house and a regular house, it is treated as a commercial system and the rules change in a major way.

And they surely don't like 2 or more septic system on one property.  One would have to be mindful of that.

Ok, I see where you are coming from.
For my part I am not part of the system but I know how it works, for better or for worse.
- Nobody offers advise in case it creates a legal liability
- outcomes required of equipment is often given, and you have to find what to do to get it.
- environmental rules are set in place
- Building permits are required to protect future purchasers of the property and help mortgage suppliers a saleable product so you get the loan.

S Bengi wrote:Mortgage holders (Banks) and county gov are a business and they have to think about the cash flow of the house after the initial owner is replaced. So that is why they have these standardized bare minimum setups, that makes the house easy to resell. Now once it is approved. For the most part they don't care what you do unless someone complains.

I know that the $3,000 for a septic system is a lot but at the same time it isn't just think of it as a tax/permit fee, so that the gov/bank can quickly make a money after you leave it. Afterwards we are free to make our own environmentally friendly alterations afterwards.

Which is exactly why we were talking about cash flowing the project so we don't have to answer to a bank...

But since it seems we HAVE to have a septic in the state of Texas, regardless, maybe we'll do a mortgage (if we can) to save ourselves some stress.

Unfortunately for us, since we're looking to share the property with my parents it's NOT a simple $3,000 septic system... we got a quote for $20,000 (installed) for a system large enough to handle both homes. Of course this means my parents will have their 'shit go down hill' to the septic system near our house.. which sounds.. yuck, but I guess that's how city systems work.
Your pricing for $3000 makes me wonder if that $20,000 system was way over priced though... suppose it's because my parents want to build a large house but since we're building first we're bearing the weight of getting a huge septic in when we just need a small one... *rolls eyes*

I suppose if this doesn't work in the end we may just have to build a multi-generational home to share or wait until after they build so we can have our 50% 'accessory dwelling' unit.

Of course we're the ones ready to build right now, not them.. so that's another matter.

Sounds like I need some more estimates for sure :)
Our situation is so odd and unique- another reason we wanted to avoid the bank lol

Rebecca, I searched for this Expandable domestic sewerage systems
And got an array if ideas, one may suit you.

I would encourage you to have separate sewerage systems unless the price is absurd, because it may save a lot of hassle.

I believe we’re .4 acre short from being able to build two separate septics.. :(

Need 5 acres for it and we have 4.6.

Although the document is not clear so I need to call for some clarification. Wasn’t sure if it meant we cannot have more than 2 well/septics in combination or not 2 wells and not 2 septics.

If it’s the in combination thing, in theory, we could do two septics and no well. Which seems risky but the well water there sucks anyway.

It seems strange having wells for water and septic drainage systems near each other.
Sounds like a bigger house built as two separate homes and separated by a covered courtyard.
I have done that and its still called a single house.
It may work for you.
With clever design and I have seen a few, it would act as two houses except when you want a combined family affair.
I saw one on a TV show called Extraordinary Houses recently as well.
I assume its a bit hot where you are courtyards offset etc can work well.

In my experience, $3000 to put in an entire septic system is very low. That would cover excavation around here. Even repairs are likely to cost more than that.

We have two septic systems, one for each house. But our property is larger and in a different state. It's crazy how different each state is.