EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Nebraska
39 formal actions at 30 of 197 plants · $1.1M in penalties · 6 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 39 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Nebraska, 10 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 30 of the state's 197 plants, with $1.1 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (24 cases). EPA has inspected 6 plants in the state, 6 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
- All plants in Nebraska
- Nebraska NPDES permits
- EPA enforcement nationwide
- Analysis: enforcement since 2020
Recent enforcement actions in Nebraska
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David City Wastewater Treatment Facility David City | Sep 2026 FY2018 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2018-0031 |
| Atkinson Wastewater Treatment Atkinson | May 2025 FY2020 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2020-0083 |
| Humboldt Wastewater Treatment Facility Humboldt | Aug 2024 FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 07-2024-0122 |
EPA's description: “Failure to meet NPDES permit requirements.” | ||||||
| Wood River Wastewater Treatment Facility Wood River | Feb 2024 FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2022-0063 |
EPA's description: “Facility agreed to compliance order to correct violations of NPDES permit” | ||||||
| North Bend Wastewater Treatment Facility North Bend | Nov 2023 FY2023 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 07-2023-0139 |
EPA's description: “Facility failed to meet permit effluent limits, maintain emergency power, perform maintenance and exceeded its throughput limits.” | ||||||
| Holdrege Wastewater Treatment Holdrege | Aug 2023 FY2023 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2023-0131 |
EPA's description: “NPDES permit violations, inoperable UV disinfection system, bypasses and influent samples not properly cooled.” | ||||||
| Fremont Wastewater Treatment Fremont | Oct 2022 FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $26,500 | ECHO 07-2022-0032 |
EPA's description: “Order to address CWA 402 NPDES permit violations with the City?s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4).” | ||||||
| Randolph Wastewater Treatment Facility Randolph | Aug 2022 FY2021 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2021-0059 |
EPA's description: “The City of Randolph reported numerous violations of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the Wastewater Treatment Facility.” | ||||||
| Broken Bow Wastewater Treatment Facility Broken Bow | Jan 2022 FY2020 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 07-2020-2012 |
| Stuart Wastewater Treatment Facility Stuart | Jan 2021 FY2020 | Administrative order | Sewage Sludge Disposal | Final Order With Penalty | $2,700 | ECHO 07-2020-0179 |
EPA's description: “Respondent failed to comply with Section 405 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C.345, and/or40 C.F.R, 503, Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge, which limit the disposal of sewage sludge.” | ||||||
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 Nebraska
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wakefield Wastewater Treatment Wakefield | Jun 2007 FY2004 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $1.1M | $16M | ECHO 07-2004-0238 |
| 2 | Fremont Wastewater Treatment Fremont | Oct 2022 FY2022 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $26,500 | — | ECHO 07-2022-0032 |
| 3 | City Of Columbus - Wastewater Treatment Facility Columbus | May 2010 FY2010 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $21,124 | $500 | ECHO 07-2010-0158 |
| 4 | Wakefield Wastewater Treatment Wakefield | May 2010 FY2004 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $18,600 | $2,000 | ECHO 07-2004-0254 |
| 5 | Plainview Municipal Power Plainview | Sep 2011 FY2009 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $14,940 | — | ECHO 07-2009-0247 |
| 6 | Broken Bow Wastewater Treatment Facility Broken Bow | Apr 2020 FY2020 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $6,500 | — | ECHO 07-2020-0055 |
| 7 | Cozad WWTF Cozad | Sep 2019 FY2019 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $6,500 | — | ECHO 07-2019-0217 |
| 8 | Stuart Wastewater Treatment Facility Stuart | Jan 2021 FY2020 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $2,700 | — | ECHO 07-2020-0179 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 1 | — |
| FY2019 | 1 | $6,500 |
| FY2020 | 4 | $9,200 |
| FY2021 | 1 | — |
| FY2022 | 2 | $26,500 |
| FY2023 | 2 | — |
| FY2024 | 1 | — |
| FY2025 | 0 | — |
| FY2026 | 0 | — |
| FY2027 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Nebraska: questions
How many EPA enforcement actions have been taken against wastewater plants in Nebraska?
EPA's enforcement records list 39 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Nebraska, 10 of them since fiscal year 2020. They involve 30 of the state's 197 plants. Informal actions such as notices of violation are not counted here.
Which Nebraska wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?
Wakefield Wastewater Treatment in Wakefield: $1.1 million assessed in fiscal year 2004 (M G WALDBAUM CO, 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 Nebraska is from Sep 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 2026.
Try Klarifi for free
Create your own trial account and explore how Klarifi can help you.