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.

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EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in New Jersey

Name: EPA enforcement actions against wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey
Creator: Klarifi
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93 formal actions at 39 of 121 plants · $2M in penalties · 24 EPA inspections

EPA's enforcement records list 93 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey, 7 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 39 of the state's 121 plants, with $2 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

The 10 most recent formal EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey, 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
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

The 10 largest penalties assessed in EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey, 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	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	Njdoc Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility Annandale	Dec 2014 · FY2014	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$69,000	$4,500	ECHO 02-2014-7102
5	Ac Wagner Youth Corr Fac Chesterfield	Dec 2014 · FY2014	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$69,000	$4,500	ECHO 02-2014-7102
6	Greystone Park Psych Hospital Greystone Park	Jan 2003 · FY2002	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$43,912	—	ECHO 02-2002-9112
7	Rockaway Valley Reg Sa Boonton	Mar 1990 · FY1989	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$32,500	—	ECHO 02-1989-0204
8	Bergen County Utilities Authority Little Ferry	Oct 1998 · FY1989	Judicial case	Final Order With Penalty	$27,500	—	ECHO 02-1989-0228
9	Essex & Union Cnty Joint Meeting STP Elizabeth	Jun 1990 · FY1990	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$25,000	—	ECHO 02-1990-0059
10	Middlesex County Utilities Authority Sayreville	Jun 1990 · FY1990	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$25,000	—	ECHO 02-1990-0059

Actions by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Formal actions	Penalties
FY2017	1	$22,500
FY2018	2	—
FY2019	1	$530
FY2020	0	—
FY2021	0	—
FY2022	2	—
FY2023	1	—
FY2024	2	—
FY2025	2	—
FY2026	0	—

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

EPA enforcement in New Jersey: 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: Feb 2026.

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