Which Kentucky wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?

Msd, Morris Forman Plant in Louisville: $1 million assessed in fiscal year 2004 (LOUISVILLE & JEFFERSON COUNTY METROPOLITAN SEWER DISTRICT, (MSD) AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, Superseded by Another Enforcement Action). 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 Kentucky is from Sep 2022.

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EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Kentucky

Name: EPA enforcement actions against wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky
Creator: Klarifi
License: https://klarifi.io/terms-of-service

22 formal actions at 16 of 192 plants · $2.6M in penalties · 3 EPA inspections

EPA's enforcement records list 22 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky, 0 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 16 of the state's 192 plants, with $2.6 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (10 cases). EPA has inspected 2 plants in the state, 3 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.

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

Recent enforcement actions in Kentucky

The 10 most recent formal EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky, 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
Msd, Morris Forman Plant Louisville	Sep 2022 · FY2007	Judicial case	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order With Penalty	$230,000	ECHO 04-2007-9022
EPA's description: “See sensitive comment.”
Derek R Guthrie WQTC MSD Louisville	Sep 2022 · FY2007	Judicial case	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order With Penalty	$230,000	ECHO 04-2007-9022
EPA's description: “See sensitive comment.”
Rwra Max Rhoads WWTP Owensboro	Jul 2016 · FY2008	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-2008-4754
Elkhorn City STP Elkhorn City	Jan 2014 · FY2013	Administrative order	Information Request, Records, Entry	Final Order No Penalty	—	ECHO 04-2013-4767
Bee Creek WWTP Murray	Jan 2013 · FY2012	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order No Penalty	—	ECHO 04-2012-4779
Bee Creek WWTP Murray	Jul 2012 · FY2012	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Superseded by Another Enforcement Action	—	ECHO 04-2012-4750
Greenup Joint Sewer Agency Wurtland	Jan 2010 · FY2009	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-2009-4775
Msd, Morris Forman Plant Louisville	Apr 2009 · FY2004	Judicial case	NPDES Discharge without a Permit	Superseded by Another Enforcement Action	$1M	ECHO 04-2004-9027
Derek R Guthrie WQTC MSD Louisville	Apr 2009 · FY2004	Judicial case	NPDES Discharge without a Permit	Superseded by Another Enforcement Action	$1M	ECHO 04-2004-9027
Paducah/mccracken County Jsa - Woodlawn Paducah	Jan 2009 · FY2008	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-2008-4756

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 Kentucky

The 8 largest penalties assessed in EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky, 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	Msd, Morris Forman Plant Louisville	Apr 2009 · FY2004	Judicial case	Superseded by Another Enforcement Action	$1M	$800M	ECHO 04-2004-9027
2	Derek R Guthrie WQTC MSD Louisville	Apr 2009 · FY2004	Judicial case	Superseded by Another Enforcement Action	$1M	$800M	ECHO 04-2004-9027
3	Msd, Morris Forman Plant Louisville	Sep 2022 · FY2007	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$230,000	$1,143M	ECHO 04-2007-9022
4	Derek R Guthrie WQTC MSD Louisville	Sep 2022 · FY2007	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$230,000	$1,143M	ECHO 04-2007-9022
5	Strodes Creek STP Winchester	Apr 2007 · FY2006	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$75,000	$67M	ECHO 04-2006-9008
6	Henderson South STP #2 Robards	Oct 2006 · FY2006	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$8,000	—	ECHO 04-2006-4502
7	Tompkinsville STP Tompkinsville	Mar 1980 · FY1977	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$6,500	—	ECHO 04-1977-0003
8	Jenkins WWTP Jenkins	Jan 1995 · FY1987	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$6,000	—	ECHO 04-1987-0006

EPA enforcement in Kentucky: 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: Sep 2022.

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