Fee schedule not yet confirmed Statewide range shown until we confirm with the county
Blount County septic permits
Maryville, Alcoa, Townsend, Louisville and the county. What the state requires, what the ground here does to the price, and what to confirm with the county before you file.
Permit costs
We haven't confirmed Blount County's current fee schedule. Rather than publish a number we can't stand behind, here's the statewide picture and the exact question to ask when you call.
Across Tennessee, a construction permit for a septic installation generally runs $150 to $500, set by system type. Counties publish their own schedules within that, and they differ — Sevier County, for instance, charges $300 for a new system and $75 for a repair, then bills an inspection letter and water sample at $100 each on top.
When you call Blount County Environmental Health, ask for four figures specifically:
- New septic construction permit
- Repair permit — usually much cheaper, and often the right filing
- Inspection letter — this is what a lender will ask for at closing
- Re-inspection fee, and how re-scheduling works if an inspection fails
Ask whether they take cards. Several East Tennessee county offices still require payment by mail, which quietly adds days to a schedule that may be tied to a closing date.
The filing that saves the most money
A repair permit costs a fraction of a new-system permit almost everywhere in the state. If the work replaces a failed component of an existing system rather than installing a new one, it should be filed as a repair. Contractors sometimes default to the new-system filing because it carries fewer questions. Ask which one went in, and why.
Approval has to come before the work
A construction permit must be issued before anything is dug. Applications filed after a system is in the ground get rejected, and correcting that can mean excavating a finished installation. If a contractor offers to start while the paperwork catches up, that is your signal to get another quote.
Check the installer's permit, not just their licence
Two separate things are at play. You pull a construction permit through the county. Your contractor must separately hold an installer permit from TDEC — $200 for conventional systems, plus $100 for each alternative system type they're approved for, such as low pressure pipe, mound, oxidation lagoon or aerobic treatment.
If your lot is in the higher ground toward Townsend, confirm your installer holds the alternative-system permit before you sign. A conventional-only permit holder cannot legally build a mound.
What the ground here does to the price
Blount County runs from flat farmland near Alcoa up into the foothills toward Townsend and the park boundary, and that gradient is the story on price. Valley sites frequently perc well and take a conventional gravity field. As ground steepens and soil thins toward the mountains, slope and shallow rock start ruling out gravity designs, and the field gets built above grade instead. The same house plan can cost $12,000 or $30,000 depending which side of that line the lot falls on.
| Scope | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tank only, 1,000 gallon concrete | $2,500–4,500 |
| Conventional gravity system | $12,000–20,000 |
| Mound system | $20,000–35,000 |
| Drain field only, conventional | $5,000–15,000 |
| Perc test | $300–800 |
Nearby counties
Fee schedules and ground conditions change at the county line, sometimes sharply. If your property sits near a boundary, check the neighbouring sheet too.