HOUSTON – Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services sent an 11-page deficiency letter to Camp Mystic this week regarding its emergency plan. An approved emergency plan is critical to a youth camp obtaining a license to operate.
Camp Mystic is seeking to reopen its Cypress Lake location, not the Guadalupe location where 25 campers, 2 counselors and co-owner Dick Eastland died during last year’s catastrophic flood.
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A deficiency letter from the Texas Department of State Health Services, obtained by 2 Investigates covers 22 separate audit categories and identifies gaps in how the camp would respond to emergencies, and whether parents would be notified in a timely manner.
READ MORE: Why families are fighting Camp Mystic’s reopening after deadly flood and new Texas laws
However, state officials said Camp Mystic is not alone in having its emergency plan sent back for revision. A DSHS spokeswoman told us that “most youth camps have received a notice of deficiency letter for their emergency plan due to the statutory changes and increased emergency plan requirements.” She added that emergency plans are confidential by law and cannot be released publicly. At the beginning of April, 116 camps submitted emergency plans to the state as part of the licensing process.
Across multiple sections of the review, including fire response, medical emergencies, aquatic incidents, and transportation accidents, state reviewers flagged that no specific staff role is clearly assigned to contact emergency services. The letter warned that a “lack of role clarity may delay emergency response and impact timely coordination with emergency services.”
Another area of Mystic’s emergency plan flagged for missing information deals with submitting a FEMA floodplain map that “clearly identify each cabin in relationship to the floodplain and floodway.”
The state’s letter also stated there no clear reunification plan spelling out how parents would reclaim their children after a flood evacuation.
The camp’s active threat and security section contains “an incorrect reference to Section 3.6.2, which does not exist, potentially impacting usability during an emergency.” In a crisis, a staff member following that plan would hit a dead end.
READ MORE: Several Camp Mystic parents ask state to deny license renewal
Reviewers also found Mystic’s Unauthorized Individual Plan was insufficient and does not “include how to identify an authorized vs unauthorized person.”
State reviewers noted that while the plan states the camp “shall” install and maintain an emergency warning system, it “does not affirm that the camp has and maintains an emergency warning system.” The plan also does not identify who is responsible for operating the system or who serves as backup.
The new requirements stem from changes to the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 141, also known as the Texas Youth Camp Safety and Health Act, which raised the bar for what emergency plans must contain. The DSHS letter notes its review “does not verify operational capability, staff training, or real-world implementation,” meaning the state is evaluating paperwork, not whether the camp could actually execute the plan.
Camp Mystic has 45 days to submit a corrected emergency plan to the state. 2 Investigates also learned DSHS has contracted with National EMR, an emergency management and response company in Schertz, Tx., to review all emergency plans submitted to the state by youth camps to help ensure the plans meet the new standards outline in the law.
“National EMR’s role is limited to administrative review and helps DSHS determine whether plans contain the required components. National EMR does not make final determinations related to camp emergency plan compliance, regulate camps, enforce compliance, or make licensing decisions. Those responsibilities remain solely with DSHS,” wrote Lara Anton with DSHS.
Camp Mystic official sent the following statement to KPRC.
“Camp Mystic - along with other Texas camps - recently received a deficiency letter from the Texas Department of Health Services (DSHS) regarding Camp Mystic’s application for licensure for its Cypress Lake campus.
Camp Mystic is carefully reviewing the notice from DSHS and we are working closely with DSHS through the appropriate process to address the areas outlined. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our campers, and we hope to continue the nearly century-long mission and ministry of Camp Mystic to provide a Christian camping experience for girls that allows them to grow physically, mentally and spiritually."
Typically, DSHS will not perform an onsite inspection of a camp until an emergency plan is approved, but a spokesperson for the agency told 2 Investigates it would send inspectors to Camp Mystic while “Texas Rangers are there for their investigation.”