EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Connecticut
22 formal actions at 14 of 54 plants · $2M in penalties · 15 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 22 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Connecticut, 0 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 14 of the state's 54 plants, with $2 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (11 cases). EPA has inspected 7 plants in the state, 15 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
Recent enforcement actions in Connecticut
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility Hartford | Jun 2025 · FY2004 | Judicial case | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $850,000 | ECHO 01-2004-2040 |
| Stratford Water Pollution Control Facility Stratford | Jun 2023 · FY2010 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 01-2010-2006 |
| EPA's description: “On 6/24/10, EPA issued a CWA administrative order to the Town of Stratford, CT for its failure to report bypasses of its collection system to the CT DEP as required by its NPDES Permit.” | ||||||
| Greenwich WPCF Greenwich | Mar 2023 · FY2009 | Judicial case | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $250,000 | ECHO 01-2009-2031 |
| EPA's description: “Region I transmitted to OECA a Consent Decree that the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut (Town) has executed to resolve claims for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Town=s NPDES permit. On…” | ||||||
| Norwalk WPCF East Norwalk | Sep 2022 · FY2017 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 01-2017-2018 |
| EPA's description: “The Order addresses the City's unauthorized discharges of sewage from its sanitary sewer collection system ('Collection System') to waters of the United States and certain discharges from the…” | ||||||
| Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility Hartford | Jul 2021 · FY2018 | Judicial case | Solid Waste Fuel Combustion | Final Order Entered | $298,000 | ECHO 01-2018-1020 |
| EPA's description: “7/8/21 - On July 8, 2021, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut approved a Consent Decree resolving alleged violations by The Metropolitan District (the District) of Clean Air Act…” | ||||||
| New Canaan Wastewater Treatment Plant New Canaan | Jan 2021 · FY2008 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 01-2008-2077 |
| EPA's description: “Since June 2004, the Town has marginally, but consistently violated its total zinc monthly average and daily maximum concentration limits. The Order requires the Town to summarize its past efforts to…” | ||||||
| Shelton Water Pollution Control Facility Shelton | Oct 2018 · FY2004 | Judicial case | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $142,000 | ECHO 01-2004-2075 |
| Meriden Water Pollution Control Facility Meriden | Sep 2018 · FY2018 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 01-2018-2025 |
| EPA's description: “On September 08, 2018, the Region issued an Administrative Order ( Order ) to the City of Meriden, Connecticut. The Order addresses the City's unauthorized discharges of sewage from its sanitary…” | ||||||
| Norwalk WPCF East Norwalk | Aug 2017 · FY2010 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Superseded by Another Enforcement Action | — | ECHO 01-2010-2056 |
| EPA's description: “An administrative order (Order) was issued to the City for violations of the Clean Water Act associated with its unauthorized discharge of pollutants from locations in its Collection System that…” | ||||||
| Westside Water Pollution Control Facility Bridgeport | Aug 2016 · FY2016 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 01-2016-2025 |
| EPA's description: “On August 25, 2016, the Region issued a Clean Water Act order on consent (AOC) to the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut addressing ongoing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Since June 2011, on at least…” | ||||||
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 Connecticut
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility Hartford | Jun 2025 · FY2004 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $850,000 | $292M | ECHO 01-2004-2040 |
| 2 | Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility Hartford | Jul 2021 · FY2018 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $298,000 | $60,000 | ECHO 01-2018-1020 |
| 3 | Greenwich WPCF Greenwich | Mar 2002 · FY1999 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $285,000 | $1M | ECHO 01-1999-0077 |
| 4 | Greenwich WPCF Greenwich | Mar 2023 · FY2009 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $250,000 | $11M | ECHO 01-2009-2031 |
| 5 | Shelton Water Pollution Control Facility Shelton | Oct 2018 · FY2004 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $142,000 | $4M | ECHO 01-2004-2075 |
| 6 | Portland Water Pollution Control Facility Portland | Feb 1998 · FY1997 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $33,300 | $2,000 | ECHO 01-1997-0099 |
| 7 | Danbury Water Pollution Control Facility Danbury | Nov 2011 · FY2011 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $30,000 | — | ECHO 01-2011-2020 |
| 8 | Stamford Water Pollution Control Facility Stamford | Aug 2011 · FY2011 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $26,000 | — | ECHO 01-2011-2021 |
| 9 | Litchfield WPCF Bantam | Feb 1998 · FY1997 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $16,700 | $2,000 | ECHO 01-1997-0220 |
| 10 | Meriden Water Pollution Control Facility Meriden | Dec 1997 · FY1997 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $12,000 | — | ECHO 01-1997-0018 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 1 | — |
| FY2018 | 2 | $298,000 |
| FY2019 | 0 | — |
| FY2020 | 0 | — |
| FY2021 | 0 | — |
| FY2022 | 0 | — |
| FY2023 | 0 | — |
| FY2024 | 0 | — |
| FY2025 | 0 | — |
| FY2026 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Connecticut: questions
Sources and methodology
Flow, permit and violation figures come from the EPA's ICIS-NPDES discharge monitoring records. Population served comes from the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2022. Treatment structures are identified by Klarifi's review of aerial imagery, and capital improvement projects are extracted from published municipal budget documents. Violations are counted over the last three years of monitoring reports.
Data refreshed September 17, 2026.
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: Jun 2025.