EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in New Jersey
89 formal actions at 38 of 118 plants · $1.9M in penalties · 24 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 89 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey, 7 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 38 of the state's 118 plants, with $1.9 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is sewage sludge disposal (41 cases). EPA has inspected 18 plants in the state, 24 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
- All plants in New Jersey
- New Jersey NPDES permits
- EPA enforcement nationwide
- Analysis: enforcement since 2020
Recent enforcement actions in New Jersey
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Boro WWTP Washington | Feb 2026 FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2025-3007 |
EPA's description: “AO to develop a written O&M Manual for the sewer collection system.” | ||||||
| Morristown Sewer Utility Morristown | Jul 2025 FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2024-3044 |
EPA's description: “To develop and submit to EPA, with a copy to NJDEP, written operation and maintenance procedures for the collection system.” | ||||||
| Willingboro Water Pollution Control Plant Willingboro | Mar 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2025-3011 |
EPA's description: “EPA inspected Respondent on September 2025, 2024 and sent an Administrative Compliance Order on March 19, 2025. The Order requires the Site to do multiple things but primarily comply with their…” | ||||||
| Somerset Raritian Valley Sewerage Bridgewater | Apr 2024 FY2016 | Judicial case | Solid Waste Fuel Combustion | Final Order With Penalty | $225,000 | ECHO 02-2016-0016 |
EPA's description: “Requesting DOJ initiate a civil judicial action against wastewater treatment facilities designed to treat domestic sewage sludge by operating sewage sludge incineration (SSI) units. The action would…” | ||||||
| Greenwich Twp STP Gibbstown | Oct 2023 FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2024-3010 |
EPA's description: “Effluent Violations and O&M.” | ||||||
| Hightstown Boro AWWTP Hightstown | Jun 2023 FY2023 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2023-3003 |
EPA's description: “This Order has been developed to enforce NJPDES permit requirements regarding proper O&M of the sanitary sewer collection system.” | ||||||
| Pemberton Twp MUA Pemberton | Jul 2022 FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2022-3019 |
EPA's description: “This Order has been developed to enforce NJPDES permit requirements regarding proper O&M of the sanitary sewer collection system.” | ||||||
| Maple Shade Twp Util Auth Park Avenue POTW Maple Shade | Oct 2021 FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2022-3005 |
EPA's description: “This AO has been developed to enforce NJPDES permit requirements regarding proper O&M of the sanitary sewer collection system, and to eliminate unpermitted discharges of sanitary sewage to receiving…” | ||||||
| Willingboro Water Pollution Control Plant Willingboro | Mar 2019 FY2018 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2018-3029 |
EPA's description: “This AO has not been developed based on the need to eliminate existing discharges to receiving water bodies. Instead, it has been developed to enforce SPDES permit requirements regarding proper O&M…” | ||||||
| Two Bridges Wastewater Treatment Plant Lincoln Park | Dec 2018 FY2019 | Administrative order | Underground Storage Tanks Compliance Order | Final Order With Penalty | $530 | ECHO 02-2019-7910 |
EPA's description: “Facility did not have overfill prevention as the overfill alarm was disconnected from electricity. FC was issued and facility returned to compliance.” | ||||||
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 New Jersey
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hudson Sewerage Auth WWTP Hoboken | Sep 2001 FY1985 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $1.2M | — | ECHO 02-1985-0071 |
| 2 | Somerset Raritian Valley Sewerage Bridgewater | Apr 2024 FY2016 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $225,000 | $12M | ECHO 02-2016-0016 |
| 3 | River Road WWTP West New York | Sep 2001 FY1985 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $160,000 | — | ECHO 02-1985-0069 |
| 4 | Ac Wagner Youth Corr Fac Chesterfield and 1 other plant named in the case | Dec 2014 FY2014 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $69,000 | $4,500 | ECHO 02-2014-7102 |
| 5 | Greystone Park Psych Hospital Greystone Park | Jan 2003 FY2002 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $43,912 | — | ECHO 02-2002-9112 |
| 6 | Rockaway Valley Reg Sa Boonton | Mar 1990 FY1989 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $32,500 | — | ECHO 02-1989-0204 |
| 7 | Bergen County Utilities Authority Little Ferry | Oct 1998 FY1989 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $27,500 | — | ECHO 02-1989-0228 |
| 8 | Middlesex County Utilities Authority Sayreville and 1 other plant named in the case | Jun 1990 FY1990 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $25,000 | — | ECHO 02-1990-0059 |
| 9 | Middlesex County Utilities Authority Sayreville | Jul 1990 FY1988 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $22,973 | — | ECHO 02-1988-0571 |
| 10 | Middlesex County Utilities Authority Sayreville | Jul 2017 FY2017 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $22,500 | $2,500 | ECHO 02-2017-9103 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 2 | — |
| FY2019 | 1 | $530 |
| FY2020 | 0 | — |
| FY2021 | 0 | — |
| FY2022 | 2 | — |
| FY2023 | 1 | — |
| FY2024 | 2 | — |
| FY2025 | 2 | — |
| FY2026 | 0 | — |
| FY2027 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in New Jersey: questions
How many EPA enforcement actions have been taken against wastewater plants in New Jersey?
EPA's enforcement records list 89 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey, 7 of them since fiscal year 2020. They involve 38 of the state's 118 plants. Informal actions such as notices of violation are not counted here.
Which New Jersey wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?
North Hudson Sewerage Auth WWTP in Hoboken: $1.2 million assessed in fiscal year 1985 (HOBOKEN, CITY OF ET.AL., 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 New Jersey is from Feb 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: Feb 2026.
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