Developer's Dumping Forces Families From Homes
Owning your own home -- it's what millions of us work for. But the American dream is turning into more of a nightmare for dozens of Texans...Investigative reporter Amy Davis uncovers the violations that have forced families from their homes...."They get a judgment against him and they just continue letting him operate as normal. So, what was the point?" homeowner John Doty said. We found Hall operating all over Texas, building homes and violating the state's health and safety code -- in Grimes, Leon, Madison, Liberty and San Jacinto counties. "Those have little or no oversight," San Jacinto District Attorney Mark Price said.

Owning your own home -- it's what millions of us work for. But the American dream is turning into more of a nightmare for dozens of Texans.

KPRC Local 2 investigates a developer who's avoided state laws and evaded regulators for years.

No one believed chunks of dirt and grease were coming out of Pamela Hobbs' pipes until she caught it on camera.

"We quit drinking it over a year ago," she said.

Hobbs complained to the state but is convinced she knows the source of the contamination.

"The local garbage man will pick up the garbage around here. Instead of taking it to the dump, he'll dump it in these holes," she said.

Holes like this one or this one. We found them all over her San Jacinto County subdivision -- construction debris peeking out of the makeshift landfills.

Check out this dumping ground -- old tires, wood and scrap metal left here by workers building homes for developer Darrell Hall.

"But this mess is not news to state inspectors. They've seen this trash, fined developer Darrell Hall and ordered him to clean it up. But that was four years ago," KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis said.

"They get a judgment against him and they just continue letting him operate as normal. So, what was the point?" homeowner John Doty said.

We found Hall operating all over Texas, building homes and violating the state's health and safety code -- in Grimes, Leon, Madison, Liberty and San Jacinto counties.

"Those have little or no oversight," San Jacinto District Attorney Mark Price said.

San Jacinto District Attorney Mark Price says resources for investigating complaints in rural counties like his are nearly non-existent.

"The counties just can't afford full-time engineers, full-time inspectors," he said.

Which takes us back to the state and this lawsuit in 2002. The attorney general's office and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality sued Hall for digging "illegal, unpermitted landfills" where crews buried or burned piles of garbage, old tires, paint and other hazardous waste.

Investigators say crews then covered up the holes, even built homes on top of the makeshift landfills.

In 2002, Hall agreed to pay a $325,000 and clean up his neighborhoods.

Anita Allooh, who lived in one of those neighborhoods, waited and waited. Then, she finally just moved.

"Nobody did anything. The state took it over. They put a judgment against Darrell Hall, but they left it in his hands to take care of it, which he never did," Allooh said.

Fast forward four years to find Hall's employees still building, still dumping waste, still selling homes.

"They're coming in just like I did. Nobody's told them," said Regina Doty, who moved from a home purchased from Hall. 

Nobody's told new buyers what they're buying into. But four weeks after we contacted the state to ask about the ongoing violations, the attorney general filed this motion for contempt, again ordering Hall to clean up the land.

When we asked the A.G. for an interview, they told us since the case is still in litigation, they can't discuss it.

And no one will talk to homeowners like Hobbs either.

"I've been over a year trying to get a hold of Darrell Hall," Hobbs said.

When Darrell Hall didn't return our phone calls, we dropped by his home, then drove to his home office in Madisonville, two hours north of Houston.

"Can you tell us where to find him? We drove a long way to talk to him," Davis said.

"I don't know where he's at. I haven't seen him today," a Hall employee said.

An attorney for Darrell Hall sent us a one-sentence statement that reads, "Mr. Hall makes it possible for people to own homes that wouldn't otherwise have that opportunity."

But families forced from their houses told us the opportunity was more like a sentence.

"Why doesn't he live in these homes for over a year and see how he likes it there? Drink that water. Wash your babies in that water," Allooh said.