Tex. Health & Safety Code § 341.014 · Subchapter B. NUISANCES AND GENERAL SANITATION
DISPOSAL OF HUMAN EXCRETA.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) Human excreta in a populous area shall be disposed of through properly managed sewers, treatment tanks, chemical toilets, or privies constructed and maintained in conformity with the department's specifications, or by other methods approved by the department. The disposal system shall be sufficient to prevent the pollution of surface soil, the contamination of a drinking water supply, the infection of flies or cockroaches, or the creation of any other public health nuisance.
(b) Effluent from septic tanks constructed after September 4, 1945, shall be disposed of through:
(1) a subsurface drainage field designed in accordance with good public health engineering practices; or
(2) any other method that does not create a public health nuisance.
(c) A privy may not be constructed within 75 feet of a drinking water well or of a human habitation, other than a habitation to which the privy is appurtenant, without approval by the local health authority or the department. A privy may not be constructed or maintained over an abandoned well or over a stream.
(d) The superstructure and floor surrounding the seat riser and hopper device of a privy constructed and maintained in conformity with the department's specifications shall be kept in a sanitary condition at all times and must have adequate lighting and ventilation.
(e) Material and human excreta removed from a privy vault or from any other place shall be handled in a manner that does not create a public health nuisance. The material and human excreta may not be deposited within 300 feet of a highway unless buried or treated in accordance with the instructions of the local health authority or the department.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0860, eff. April 2, 2015.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.341.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 c2b95dd6c62cfb72ee4fae1eb351c9b1d3fadb0f5886ad72635b6735a996c1d6
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.