How many wastewater permits expire in North Carolina in 2026?

13 NPDES permits held by publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina expire in 2026, covering a combined average flow of 8 MGD. The busiest month is Apr 2026 with 3 expiries.

What happens when an NPDES permit expires?

The plant must have applied for renewal at least 180 days before the expiry date. If the agency has not reissued the permit by then, the old permit is administratively continued and stays enforceable. The reissued permit typically carries updated effluent limits based on the latest water-quality standards, which is what drives upgrade projects.

Which is the largest plant with a permit expiring in North Carolina in 2026?

City Of High Point in Thomasville, treating about 3.05 MGD under permit NC0024228, expiring Feb 2026.

How do I get contacts for the plants on this list?

Every plant links to its profile with flow, technology and compliance data. Verified decision-maker contacts for each plant, and the same list for every state and year, are available in Klarifi with a free trial.

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North Carolina wastewater permits expiring in 2026

Name: North Carolina NPDES permits expiring in 2026
Creator: Klarifi
License: https://klarifi.io/terms-of-service

13 NPDES permits · 8 MGD combined average flow

13 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina hold NPDES permits that expire during 2026, issued by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The table lists each plant with its permit number, expiry month, average flow, treatment technology and three-year violation count, in order of expiry.

An NPDES permit runs for five years. To keep discharging, a plant must apply for renewal at least 180 days before the expiry date, and the renewed permit usually arrives with tighter effluent limits, new monitoring requirements or a compliance schedule. That is why the year a permit expires is the year a plant starts budgeting for upgrades: nutrient removal, disinfection, capacity or controls.

Other years:

2027 (9)2028 (15)All North Carolina NPDES permits →

Publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina with NPDES permits expiring in 2026, from EPA ICIS-NPDES records. Refreshed on every release.
Facility	City	Avg flow (MGD)	NPDES permit	Expires	Technology	Violations (3y)
City Of High Point	Thomasville	3.05	NC0024228	Feb 2026	Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Biogas balloons	0
Newland WWTP	Newland	—	NC0021857	Feb 2026	Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches	0
Central Johnston County WWTP	Smithfield	1.5	NC0030716	Mar 2026	Clarifiers, Biogas silos	2
Carolina Beach WWTP	Carolina Beach	—	NC0023256	Mar 2026	Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches	1
Terrible Creek WWTP	Fuquay Varina	1.44	NC0066516	Apr 2026	—	0
Pittsboro WWTP	Pittsboro	0.06	NC0020354	Apr 2026	—	54
Apex Water Reclamation Facility	Apex	—	NC0064050	Apr 2026	Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches, Cooling towers	2
Graham WWTP City Of	Graham	1.9	NC0021211	May 2026	Clarifiers	10
Biscoe WWTP	Biscoe	—	NC0021504	Jun 2026	Clarifiers, Aerated lagoons	3
Lincolnton WWTP	Lincolnton	—	NC0025496	Jul 2026	Clarifiers, Uncovered lagoons, Carrousels / oxidation ditches, Biogas balloons	3
Belville WWTP	Leland	—	NC0075540	Aug 2026	Clarifiers	3
Marshall WWTP	Marshall	—	NC0021733	Sep 2026	Clarifiers, Carrousels / oxidation ditches	2
M'Kean Maffitt Wastewater Treatment Plant	Wilmington	—	NC0023973	Nov 2026	Clarifiers, Biogas silos	0

North Carolina permit renewals in 2026: 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 11, 2026.

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