EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Colorado
20 formal actions at 17 of 138 plants · $50,450 in penalties · 39 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 20 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Colorado, 5 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 17 of the state's 138 plants, with $50,450 in penalties assessed. The most common ground is sewage sludge disposal (6 cases). EPA has inspected 16 plants in the state, 39 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
- All plants in Colorado
- Colorado NPDES permits
- EPA enforcement nationwide
- Analysis: enforcement since 2020
Recent enforcement actions in Colorado
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruita Wastewater Reclamation Facility Fruita | Nov 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $350 | ECHO 07-2025-0099 |
EPA's description: “Facility generates Class A biosolids for public sale. The biosolids did not meet the requirements of 503.” | ||||||
| St Vrain Sanitation District City Of Longmont | Sep 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $3,000 | ECHO 07-2025-0092 |
EPA's description: “Facility generates Class A biosolids for public sale. The biosolids did not meet the requirements of 503.” | ||||||
| Northglenn WWTP Brighton | Nov 2024 FY2023 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 08-2023-0037 |
EPA's description: “On November 3, 2022 the EPA entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with City of Northglenn, Colorado to resolve the City?s failure to implement and enforce its pretreatment Program.…” | ||||||
| Fowler Town Of-Cl2 For North Springs Fowler | Jan 2023 FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 08-2022-0062 |
EPA's description: “On August 1, 2019, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reissued the Town of Fowler?s (Town) NPDES Permit, which included a new condition that the Town develop and submit…” | ||||||
| South Ft. Collins Sanit. Dist. Fort Collins | Jun 2022 FY2020 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 08-2020-0067 |
| Avondale & Fort Reynolds Wwtps Avondale | Jun 2021 FY2008 | Administrative order | Permits for Dredge and Fill Material | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 08-2008-0018 |
EPA's description: “This Administrative Order for Compliance is issued to the Avondale Water and Sanitation District for the unlawful discharge of dredged or fill material into the Arkansas River.” | ||||||
| City Of Louisville Louisville | Jun 2018 FY2017 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order With Penalty | $25,000 | ECHO 08-2017-0104 |
EPA's description: “This Complaint proposes a penalty for failing to implement its approved pretreatment program in multiple areas. Violations addressed by the Consent Order include: violations of the City?s manganese…” | ||||||
| Southern Ute Indian Tribe Ignacio | Oct 2015 FY2015 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order With Penalty | $12,100 | ECHO 08-2015-0108 |
EPA's description: “On October 20, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a report from the National Response Center of a produced water spill on the Southern Ute Reservation from a pipeline owned…” | ||||||
| City Of Louisville Louisville | Mar 2014 FY2014 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 08-2014-0030 |
EPA's description: “This Administrative Order for Compliance on Consent (Consent Order) with the City of Louisville, Colorado (City) is for failing to implement its approved pretreatment program in multiple areas.…” | ||||||
| Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant Grand Junction | Jun 2011 FY2009 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 08-2009-0129 |
EPA's description: “This Administrative Order for Compliance is issued to the City of Grand Junction for failure to properly identify Alpine Powder as a SIU, failure to control discharges from all SIUs, failure to…” | ||||||
Full case histories, milestones, violation types and EPA's complete case summaries for every plant are shown with a free Klarifi account. Create one
Largest penalties in Colorado
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City Of Louisville Louisville | Jun 2018 FY2017 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $25,000 | — | ECHO 08-2017-0104 |
| 2 | Southern Ute Indian Tribe Ignacio | Oct 2015 FY2015 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $12,100 | $12,100 | ECHO 08-2015-0108 |
| 3 | Delta WWTP Delta | May 1990 FY1989 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $10,000 | — | ECHO 08-1989-0134 |
| 4 | St Vrain Sanitation District City Of Longmont | Sep 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $3,000 | — | ECHO 07-2025-0092 |
| 5 | Fruita Wastewater Reclamation Facility Fruita | Nov 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $350 | — | ECHO 07-2025-0099 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 0 | — |
| FY2019 | 0 | — |
| FY2020 | 1 | — |
| FY2021 | 0 | — |
| FY2022 | 1 | — |
| FY2023 | 1 | — |
| FY2024 | 0 | — |
| FY2025 | 2 | $3,350 |
| FY2026 | 0 | — |
| FY2027 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Colorado: questions
How many EPA enforcement actions have been taken against wastewater plants in Colorado?
EPA's enforcement records list 20 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Colorado, 5 of them since fiscal year 2020. They involve 17 of the state's 138 plants. Informal actions such as notices of violation are not counted here.
Which Colorado wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?
City Of Louisville in Louisville: $25,000 assessed in fiscal year 2017 (City of Louisville, Final Order With Penalty). Penalties are the amounts EPA records as assessed or agreed, not necessarily what was collected.
What does an EPA administrative order mean for a wastewater plant?
Most cases here are administrative orders under section 309 of the Clean Water Act: EPA finds permit violations, usually effluent limits or discharge without a permit, and orders the plant to return to compliance, often with a corrective action plan, a schedule and sometimes a penalty. Judicial cases go through the Department of Justice and typically end in a consent decree with a capital programme behind it. The latest case in Colorado is from Nov 2025.
Enforcement data: EPA ICIS-FE&C civil enforcement cases and ICIS compliance inspections, via ECHO. Penalties are the amounts assessed or agreed in each case as EPA records them. Latest case status in this data: Nov 2025.
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