EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in New York
301 formal actions at 139 of 462 plants · $2.9M in penalties · 50 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 301 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New York, 48 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 139 of the state's 462 plants, with $2.9 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is sewage sludge disposal (98 cases). EPA has inspected 31 plants in the state, 50 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
- All plants in New York
- New York NPDES permits
- EPA enforcement nationwide
- Analysis: enforcement since 2020
Recent enforcement actions in New York
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner Sd#1 STP Gardiner | Sep 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3024 |
EPA's description: “Chlroine and Flow Exceedances, Collection system and O&M Plan violations.” | ||||||
| Binghamton-Johnson (c) Jnt STP Vestal | Aug 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3025 |
EPA's description: “Comply with Combined Sewer Overflow requirements and proper collection system Operation and Maintenance.” | ||||||
| Millbrook Sewage Treatment Plant Millbrook | Aug 2026 FY2025 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2025-3002 |
EPA's description: “Violations of the operation of the Overflow Reduction Facility, portions of the WWTP and effluent limit exceedances.” | ||||||
| Westfield (v) WPCF Westfield | Apr 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3018 |
EPA's description: “Westfield Pollution Control Facility, a waste water treatment plant, was observed to have stormwater catch basins that discharge to a stormwater outfall. At the time of inspection, the Facility did…” | ||||||
| Walton - V WWTP Walton | Feb 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3012 |
EPA's description: “Respondent to submit material to become a delegated pretreatment control authority.” | ||||||
| Amsterdam (c) WWTP Amsterdam | Feb 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3015 |
EPA's description: “AO to develop a written O&M Manual for the sewer collection system and develop a comprehensive inspection/cleaning program for the sewer system.” | ||||||
| Herkimer (v) WWTP Herkimer | Feb 2026 FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2026-3013 |
EPA's description: “WWTP and Collection System upgrades” | ||||||
| Massena STP Massena | Jan 2026 FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2024-3045 |
EPA's description: “To develop and submit to EPA, and NYSDEC written O&M procedures for the sewer collection system.” | ||||||
| Liberty (v) WWTF Liberty | Sep 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 02-2025-3018 |
EPA's description: “Administrative Order requiring the development of an SOP to respond and report Sanitary Sewer Overflows, a plan of action to conduct a multi-phase sanitary sewer evaluation survey, submit semi-annual…” | ||||||
| Highland Falls (v) WWTP Highland Falls | May 2025 FY2025 | Administrative order | National Drinking Water Regulations | Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication | — | ECHO 02-2025-8050 |
EPA's description: “System must complete the UCMR5 registration process.” | ||||||
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 York
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallman Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Queens and 1 other plant named in the case | Oct 2017 FY2002 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $1.3M | $95M | ECHO 02-2002-0013 |
| 2 | Cedar Creek WPCP Wantagh and 2 other plants named in the case | Nov 2020 FY2015 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $427,500 | $1.1M | ECHO 02-2015-0015 |
| 3 | Cedar Creek WPCP Wantagh and 2 other plants named in the case | Sep 2012 FY2011 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $400,000 | $2.9M | ECHO 02-2011-7506 |
| 4 | Dunkirk Wastewater Treatment Facility Dunkirk | Oct 1993 FY1989 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $100,000 | — | ECHO 02-1989-0121 |
| 5 | Oswego (c) West Side WWTF Oswego | Aug 2010 FY2005 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $99,000 | $87M | ECHO 02-2005-0011 |
| 6 | City Of Poughkeepsie Water Pollution Control Plant Poughkeepsie | Apr 1989 FY1988 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $55,000 | — | ECHO 02-1988-0229 |
| 7 | Yorktown Heights Sd WWTP Yorktown Hgts | Mar 1997 FY1995 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $50,000 | — | ECHO 02-1995-0305 |
| 8 | Gloversville-Johnstown Joint WWTP Johnstown | Oct 1996 FY1983 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $50,000 | — | ECHO 02-1983-0016 |
| 9 | NYC-DEP Wards Island WPCP Manhattan | Apr 1992 FY1990 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $50,000 | — | ECHO 02-1990-0385 |
| 10 | Watertown Pollution Control Plant Watertown | May 1990 FY1989 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $50,000 | — | ECHO 02-1989-0411 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2018 | 10 | — |
| FY2019 | 7 | — |
| FY2020 | 7 | — |
| FY2021 | 5 | $7,725 |
| FY2022 | 5 | $1,500 |
| FY2023 | 8 | — |
| FY2024 | 13 | — |
| FY2025 | 4 | — |
| FY2026 | 6 | — |
| FY2027 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in New York: questions
How many EPA enforcement actions have been taken against wastewater plants in New York?
EPA's enforcement records list 301 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in New York, 48 of them since fiscal year 2020. They involve 139 of the state's 462 plants. Informal actions such as notices of violation are not counted here.
Which New York wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?
Tallman Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Queens: $1.3 million assessed in fiscal year 2002 (NEW YORK, THE CITY OF, 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 York 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.
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