Which North Carolina wastewater plant received the largest EPA penalty?

Reidsville WWTP in Reidsville: $4,500 assessed in fiscal year 1996 (REIDSVILLE, NC, 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 North Carolina is from Jan 2018.

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EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in North Carolina

Name: EPA enforcement actions against wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina
Creator: Klarifi
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11 formal actions at 7 of 87 plants · $8,300 in penalties · 3 EPA inspections

EPA's enforcement records list 11 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina, 0 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 7 of the state's 87 plants, with $8,300 in penalties assessed. The most common ground is sewage sludge disposal (7 cases). EPA has inspected 2 plants in the state, 3 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.

All plants in North Carolina →North Carolina NPDES permits →EPA enforcement nationwide →Analysis: enforcement since 2020 →

Recent enforcement actions in North Carolina

The 10 most recent formal EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina, 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
Cherokee WWTP Cherokee	Jan 2018 · FY2011	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order No Penalty	—	ECHO 04-2011-4762
Contentnea Metropolitan Sewerage District Grifton	Jul 2014 · FY2011	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-2011-4783
Cherokee WWTP Cherokee	Jan 2009 · FY2008	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order No Penalty	—	ECHO 04-2008-4778
Anson County Regional WWTP Wadesboro	Aug 2007 · FY2007	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$900	ECHO 04-2007-4525
Reidsville WWTP Reidsville	Jan 2007 · FY1996	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$4,500	ECHO 04-1996-0597
Triangle WWTP Durham	Jan 2007 · FY2004	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$2,300	ECHO 04-2004-4505
EPA's description: “CAFO issued 7/1/2004, assessing a penalty of $2,300. Respondent should have at least monitored once per 60 days or six times a year for inorganic pollutants, and vector attraction reduction.…”
Cherokee WWTP Cherokee	Oct 2006 · FY2006	Administrative order	NPDES Permit Violations	Final Order No Penalty	—	ECHO 04-2006-4769
Jefferson WWTP Jefferson	Oct 2006 · FY2006	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Final Order With Penalty	$600	ECHO 04-2006-4523
Columbus WWTP Columbus	Jun 1999 · FY1999	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-1999-0021
Columbus WWTP Columbus	Jun 1997 · FY1997	Administrative order	Sewage Sludge Disposal	Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication	—	ECHO 04-1997-0234

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 North Carolina

The 4 largest penalties assessed in EPA enforcement cases naming wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina, 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	Reidsville WWTP Reidsville	Jan 2007 · FY1996	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$4,500	—	ECHO 04-1996-0597
2	Triangle WWTP Durham	Jan 2007 · FY2004	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$2,300	—	ECHO 04-2004-4505
3	Anson County Regional WWTP Wadesboro	Aug 2007 · FY2007	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$900	—	ECHO 04-2007-4525
4	Jefferson WWTP Jefferson	Oct 2006 · FY2006	Administrative order	Final Order With Penalty	$600	—	ECHO 04-2006-4523

EPA enforcement in North Carolina: 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: Jan 2018.

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