EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in New Mexico
156 formal actions at 23 of 29 plants · $717,007 in penalties · 16 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 156 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New Mexico, 60 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 23 of the state's 29 plants, with $717,007 in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (127 cases). EPA has inspected 8 plants in the state, 16 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
Recent enforcement actions in New Mexico
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe WWTP Santa Fe | Aug 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1838 |
| EPA's description: “Failure to meet permit effluent limits and the permit schedule of compliance for copper limit.” | ||||||
| Cuba, Village Of Cuba | Jul 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1815 |
| EPA's description: “AO for late submission of permit renewal application and for failure to submit DMR's for the months of July 2025, and October 2025 thru March 2026” | ||||||
| City Of Belen WWTP Belen | Jun 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1817 |
| EPA's description: “EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Order (AO) under its authority pursuant to Section 309 of the Clean Water Act to the City of Belen Wastewater Treatment Plant. The AO was issued in response to…” | ||||||
| Mora Mutual Water & Sewer Works Association Mora | Jun 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1816 |
| EPA's description: “Failure to submit DMRs for 3 months.” | ||||||
| City Of Las Cruces - Utilities Las Cruces | Jun 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Compliance Achieved | — | ECHO 06-2026-1749 |
| EPA's description: “Administrative Order (AO) CWA-06-2026-1749 issued to the City of Las Cruces, for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. ? 1251 et seq. Violations were identified during a review of the…” | ||||||
| Sunland Park Wastewater Plant Sunland Park | Apr 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1787 |
| EPA's description: “On April 30, 2026, EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Order (AO) under its authority pursuant to Section 309 of the Clean Water Act to the Camino Real Regional Utility Wastewater Treatment Plant.…” | ||||||
| Santa Fe WWTP Santa Fe | Apr 2026 · FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 06-2024-1765 |
| EPA's description: “After previous Orders have been issued, the City of Santa Fe continues to have reporting, O&M and effluent violations. This Schedule Order is recommended to track the compliance activities proposed…” | ||||||
| Village Of Chama Chama | Apr 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 06-2026-1788 |
| EPA's description: “Village of Chama Wastewater Treatment Plant failed to meet permit effluent limits. The AO does not assess a monetary penalty.” | ||||||
| City Of Farmington Farmington | Apr 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication | — | ECHO 06-2026-1773 |
| EPA's description: “On April 16, 2026, EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Order (AO) under its authority pursuant to Section 309 of the Clean Water Act to the City of Farmington WWTF. The AO was issued in response to…” | ||||||
| City Of Rio Rancho Wastewater Facilities Rio Rancho | Mar 2026 · FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $115,000 | ECHO 06-2025-1737 |
| EPA's description: “On March 25, 2026, EPA Region 6 issued a Final Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) to the City of Rio Rancho, NM Wastewater Treatment Facility. The CAFO was issued in response to CWA Section…” | ||||||
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 Mexico
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City Of Rio Rancho Wastewater Facilities Rio Rancho | Apr 2023 · FY2023 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $142,000 | — | ECHO 06-2023-1704 |
| 2 | City Of Rio Rancho Wastewater Facilities Rio Rancho | Jan 1991 · FY1990 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $125,000 | — | ECHO 06-1990-0304 |
| 3 | City Of Rio Rancho Wastewater Facilities Rio Rancho | Mar 2026 · FY2025 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $115,000 | $240,000 | ECHO 06-2025-1737 |
| 4 | Albuquerque City Of Southside Water Reclamation Plant Albuquerque | May 1997 · FY1996 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $85,000 | — | ECHO 06-1996-0304 |
| 5 | Albuquerque City Of Southside Water Reclamation Plant Albuquerque | Sep 2024 · FY2023 | Administrative order | Final Order Issued | $72,600 | — | ECHO 06-2023-1727 |
| 6 | Las Vegas (city Of) Las Vegas | Jan 2026 · FY2025 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $33,600 | $145,000 | ECHO 06-2025-1740 |
| 7 | Albuquerque City Of Southside Water Reclamation Plant Albuquerque | Mar 2016 · FY2015 | Administrative order | Final Order Issued | $33,500 | — | ECHO 06-2015-1777 |
| 8 | Cuba, Village Of Cuba | Jan 2006 · FY2005 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $14,000 | — | ECHO 06-2005-1915 |
| 9 | Socorro, City Of Socorro | May 2007 · FY2006 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $11,000 | — | ECHO 06-2006-1893 |
| 10 | City Of Rio Rancho Wastewater Facilities Rio Rancho | Sep 2011 · FY2007 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $10,800 | — | ECHO 06-2007-1811 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 4 | — |
| FY2018 | 8 | $6,250 |
| FY2019 | 10 | — |
| FY2020 | 9 | $5,000 |
| FY2021 | 5 | — |
| FY2022 | 7 | — |
| FY2023 | 13 | $214,600 |
| FY2024 | 9 | — |
| FY2025 | 6 | $148,600 |
| FY2026 | 11 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in New Mexico: 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: Aug 2026.