By Kevin Jefferies
Hunt County – About 100 Hunt County residents and a county commissioner gathered last night to voice their objections to a proposed sewage dump between Lone Oak and Campbell. The plan would allow for the dumping of raw sewage on about 45 acres of land off County Road 3209.
Hunt County Precinct 3 Commissioner Phillip Martin addressed the large crowd gathered at Prairie Valley Baptist Church Life Fellowship Hall last night, encouraging citizens to protest the plan to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and State Representative Dan Flynn and State Senator Bob Deuell.
Gustavo Hernandez Ortega with A-1 Affordable Septic Systems is the businessman proposing the plan for the dumpsite, and there's not much Hunt County can do about it. State law allows up to 17,000 gallons of sewage to be dumped per acre per month on such sites. Ortega is currently in the process of filing the proper paperwork to adhere to state regulations, and says the process is actually good for the land.
But nearby residents disagree, saying a raw sewage dump nearby will have major undesirable side effects on their lives.
The TCEQ will take public comments on the proposal until May 6th.