Which Georgia wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?

Pole Bridge Creek Advanced Wastewater Facility in Lithonia: $1.5 million assessed in fiscal year 2008 (DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, 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 Georgia is from Jun 2026.

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EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Georgia

Name: EPA enforcement actions against wastewater treatment plants in Georgia
Creator: Klarifi
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24 formal actions at 16 of 235 plants · $3.1M in penalties · 7 EPA inspections

EPA's enforcement records list 24 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Georgia, 2 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 16 of the state's 235 plants, with $3.1 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is sewage sludge disposal (18 cases). EPA has inspected 3 plants in the state, 7 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.

All plants in Georgia →Georgia NPDES permits →EPA enforcement nationwide →Analysis: enforcement since 2020 →

Recent enforcement actions in Georgia

The 10 most recent formal EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in Georgia, by latest case status date. Source: EPA ICIS-FE&C civil enforcement cases and ICIS compliance inspections, via ECHO.
Plant	Date	Type	Law section	Outcome	Penalty	Source
Loganville, City Of (big Flat Creek Wpcp) Loganville	Jun 2026 · FY2026	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order With Penalty	$700	ECHO 07-2026-0189
EPA's description: “Facility land applied biosolids when their SOUR VAR test was noncompliant. The facility did not use any other VAR option after the SOUR test was determined.”
Macon Water Authority (rocky Creek Wrf) Macon	Dec 2021 · FY2021	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$3,500	ECHO 07-2021-0069
EPA's description: “Failure to comply with Section 405 of the CWA”
Pole Bridge Creek Advanced Wastewater Facility Lithonia	Sep 2021 · FY2008	Judicial case	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order With Penalty	$1.5M	ECHO 04-2008-9012
EPA's description: “Clean Water Act Consent Decree Entered Against DeKalb County, Georgia. On December 20, 2011, the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered a Consent Decree settling violations of…”
Dekalb County Department Of Watershed Management (snapfinger Creek Awtf) Decatur	Sep 2021 · FY2008	Judicial case	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order With Penalty	$1.5M	ECHO 04-2008-9012
EPA's description: “Clean Water Act Consent Decree Entered Against DeKalb County, Georgia. On December 20, 2011, the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered a Consent Decree settling violations of…”
Summerville, City Of (summerville Wpcp) Summerville	Aug 2012 · FY2012	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$4,900	ECHO 04-2012-4522
Stockbridge, City Of (stephen D. Peurifoy Wpcp) Stockbridge	Aug 2012 · FY2012	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2012-4518
City Of Adairsville (north Wpcp) Adairsville	Apr 2012 · FY2012	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2012-4509
Greensboro, City Of (south Wpcp) Greensboro	Aug 2011 · FY2011	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2011-4510
Monroe, City Of (jack'S Creek Wpcp) Monroe	Dec 2010 · FY2010	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2010-4526
Loganville, City Of (big Flat Creek Wpcp) Loganville	Aug 2008 · FY2008	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2008-4518

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 Georgia

The 10 largest penalties assessed in EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in Georgia, with the value of the compliance actions each case required. Source: EPA ICIS-FE&C civil enforcement cases and ICIS compliance inspections, via ECHO.
#	Plant	Date	Type	Outcome	Penalty	Compliance actions	Source
1	Pole Bridge Creek Advanced Wastewater Facility Lithonia	Sep 2021 · FY2008	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$1.5M	$1,700M	ECHO 04-2008-9012
2	Dekalb County Department Of Watershed Management (snapfinger Creek Awtf) Decatur	Sep 2021 · FY2008	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$1.5M	$1,700M	ECHO 04-2008-9012
3	Washington, City Of (rocky Creek Wpcp) Washington	Jan 2007 · FY2004	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$21,000	—	ECHO 04-2004-4500
4	Summerville, City Of (summerville Wpcp) Summerville	Aug 2012 · FY2012	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$4,900	—	ECHO 04-2012-4522
5	Summerville, City Of (summerville Wpcp) Summerville	Sep 2007 · FY2007	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$4,000	—	ECHO 04-2007-4530
6	Macon Water Authority (rocky Creek Wrf) Macon	Dec 2021 · FY2021	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$3,500	—	ECHO 07-2021-0069
7	Loganville, City Of (big Flat Creek Wpcp) Loganville	Jan 2007 · FY2005	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$3,000	—	ECHO 04-2005-4531
8	City Of Blakely Blakely	Sep 1997 · FY1997	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$2,138	—	ECHO 04-1997-0227
9	Stockbridge, City Of (stephen D. Peurifoy Wpcp) Stockbridge	Mar 1998 · FY1998	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$2,091	—	ECHO 04-1998-0113
10	Ashburn, City Of (airport Wpcp) Ashburn	Oct 1998 · FY1998	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$1,968	—	ECHO 04-1998-0418

Actions by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Formal actions	Penalties
FY2017	0	—
FY2018	0	—
FY2019	0	—
FY2020	0	—
FY2021	1	$3,500
FY2022	0	—
FY2023	0	—
FY2024	0	—
FY2025	0	—
FY2026	1	$700

EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.

EPA enforcement in Georgia: 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 2026.

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