welcome!!! two new acres .. and you are fixated on this BAD SPOT ... i had the same problem when i moved to acreage ... enjoy this summer working on the other 1.98 acres ... you just moved in.. how about .. not unlike a scientific experiment.. you spend the next year or two.. studying this spot.. and its YEAR ROUND water patterns ... and THEN think about planting something there.. you just moved in.. how have you come to conclusions at this point???? .. heck i am in adrian MI. and in a normal spring.. the ground would have thawed barely last week ... and it is not uncommon to have standing water at such time ... if water does actually remain a year round issue.. how about you fill in the hole.. regrade.. or whatever.. and then think about planting there... and i am pretty sure.. no tree .. will fix a drainage or water issue ... come on wench.. you're a lab rat.. think analytically ... my total GUESS... its a transitory spring issue.. and most likely.. you are not limited as to plant choice.. depending on your native soil structure ... i would start .. by digging a hole .. and finding out if you are dealing with clay .... and then do a perk test.. as to drainage in your garden ... then the yearly water pattern ... and then a plant ... i hope that is gentle enough.. i got wound up on your lab-ness ... and analogizing to that ... good luck ... ken

In TN, the state regulates septic systems, not the counties. I presume the "county environmental specialist" was an individual from the state Ground Water Protection Division. They often have their offices in county buildings. If it wasn't, you should contact your local GWP office right away. In most cases, the septic system will be designed by the GWP folks for you. In the case of an inadequate existing system, they may have different rules. You really need to talk to GWP, if you aren't already doing so. In most Tennessee cities and counties, you can no longer get a building permit if the septic system is undersized for the house you intend to build. Talk to your local planning and zoning folks about your plans. Make sure they are on board with what you are doing. In particular, make sure they are in agreement with you regarding the number of bedrooms in the house you are planning to build. Just because GWP issues a permit for a septic system, doesn't mean you are home free. The county or city needs to agree that what you intend to build doesn't have more bedrooms than the septic system is permitted for. Any room with a door and a closet will count as a bedroom. I also suggest you consider putting in a four bedroom septic system. A four bedroom system usually doesn't cost a lot more than a three bedroom system, and it will give you or a future owner wiggle room if you ever want to put on an addition or build another bedroom in a walk out basement, should you have one. Here is a link that might be useful: Tennessee Ground Water Protection Division

Bevangel: Yes! I did ask him. He had planned to build and then he sold his very successful small business and he built a very large home on a ton of property in the next town over. My builder has actually seen the home and says it is a very impressive thing. Our lot is nice, but cannot handle a mansion. He put the lot on the market in 2008 and then decided to build a driveway to help it to sell. One of the workers doing some clearing accidentally cleared in a wetland area. That was reported and then the land went under wetland mitigation/monitoring for three years (the city would come check on the wetlands to make sure they had not been disturbed). He could not have the lot on the market during the monitoring because who is going to build on lot with wetland mitigation taking place? So the mitigation ended in late 2011 and he put it back on. It was then simply priced too high. So like I said we caught after a 50K drop. He just wanted to be done with it and get it sold. Luckily he had the resources for all of this or it would have been a major headache. When we put our offer in there was already an offer from a builder wanting to build a spec home but he needed financing and we did not so he went with our offer as he had grown attached to the idea of a young family building there- which is exactly what we are! Match made in land-buying heaven I guess (well I hope!) :) I will ask about eagles and other species and look into storm water management. Thanks for all the responses so far!

logic, they must do things a whole lot different in Jersey. In Florida a drain field replacement will run around $4-6k for a 3500 SQFT house. If the tank is bad, which is rare, add another 1-2k. Inspecting septic system costs around $150 and is not very scientific. The key is to make sure your drain field is leeching properly. You can tell that pretty easily simply by turning on the water in the house a watching the water leach out of the tank. You can also tell if the drain field is starting to go if you see the grass a lot greener in the drain field then the rest of the yard. How does one get away with charging $1500-$2000 to inspect a drain field? What do they do that requires such an insane amount of money? OP, as for the well, have it tested for contaminants every 2 - 3 years, especially if there is a lot of growth in your area. It costs a few hundred bucks but its worth it. And lastly, have the home checked for radon which is more prevalent in homes with well water. I have a large home that is on both well and septic. I have never had a big issue with either. If I had to take one over the other I would take septic. Our well water is a PIA and we blow through a ton of salt. Even with an automatic softener system we go through about 100lbs of salt a month. And if you forget to add the salt, the system does not shut your water off when it runs out. Hard water = destruction to almost everything it touches. We are getting city water next month and I can't wait. No more yellow underwear!