Hill Murchison Mayor Mike Hill told investigators with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality he didn’t know it was illegal to bury solid waste instead of discarding it at a licensed facility, a state official told the Statesman following a month-long investigation.

"He said he didn’t know any better," Craig Conner said. "That is a typical response for things like that. We cited them, but they were pretty cooperative with us."

The newspaper on Oct. 5 sent an email to TCEQ’s Tyler office notifying officials there that two Murchison witnesses had reported Hill ordered the burial of scrap metal and other materials at the city’s wastewater treatment plant in July.

Less than 24 hours later, Conner told the Statesman he planned to visit the site and that he would ask the witnesses to sign affidavits.

One of those is Sharon Chase, Murchison’s former city secretary who resigned in August. The other witness did not wish to be identified and refused to sign an affidavit.

Courtesy Photo Some of this municipal solid waste at Murchison's wastewater treatment plant was reportedly buried at the site. "We went out there and (Murchison officials) admitted they buried the waste," Conner said. "We had them dig it up and looked at what they removed. It was mainly a bunch of traffic signs, a door, a couple of aerosol cans and some paint."

Hill did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Under Texas law, municipalities and counties must either dispose of solid waste at a state-licensed or permitted facility or maintain their own such facilities. The penalties for illegally dumping waste range from civil citations to misdemeanor and felony convictions.

Remedies include compelling officials to simply reverse their actions or face fines that increase each day the government entity they represent is in violation of the state’s environmental laws.

On Nov. 5, according to investigation details released on TCEQ’s Web site, Conner, Dale Rice, and Jack Holsomback met with Hill and other Murchison officials and inspected the burial site. Hill told investigators he would remove the waste and dispose of it at a recycling center.

"It’s a Category B violation," Conner said. "It’s kind of one of those deals in that if they were repeat offenders, they would get a fine."

A Category B violation is the classification used to describe less severe violations of environmental law. Category A is the most severe, and Category C is the least critical.

The illegal waste disposal reportedly happened on or about July 12, when Hill told water operator Mark Moseley to bury what was then believed to be empty paint cans and other metal containers.

The empty paint cans and other containers used to store sewage-treatment chemicals believed to have been buried were once stored in a metal building at the wastewater treatment plant.

Photos provided by one of the witnesses to the Statesman show a heap of metal waste and other scrap.

Hill reportedly told Moseley to "dig a hole and bury that stuff" before a scheduled visit by TCEQ officials to inspect the wastewater treatment plant.

According to the minutes of a special meeting of the Murchison City Council on June 24, Hill said he needed someone to collect solid waste from the wastewater treatment plant "before the sewer inspection."

"Mayor Hill asks if any of the council knows of someone to pick up the trash and that they cannot pick or choose through it," the minutes show.

"He said Mr. Tillison of Hottco will let the city put the tires at his place of business and to get this done before the sewer inspection. Porter Kelly knows of a man by the name of Obie Jackson and gave the number to Diane Crutchfield to call.

"Megan Harville made a motion for Mr. Jackson to get rid of the trash at the sewer plant. Ann Boyles seconded. Motion carried."

At least nine complaints have been filed against Murchison with TCEQ since February 2003, according to the agency. Records show it issued a "notice of violation" on March 18 of that year "for failure to flush adequately to maintain water quality as well as other violations."

That determination came after the complainant reported discolored drinking water and that some residents were suffering from mouth sores and rashes.

Six of the complaints were related to "dirty" water or improperly-working lift stations.

All of those were cleared by TCEQ with no citations issued.

The TCEQ’s Web site is tceq.state.tx.us. The tracking number for the October 2009 investigation is 132392.

To read the state’s environmental laws, visit info.sos.state.tx.us.