EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Ohio
117 formal actions at 83 of 837 plants · $10M in penalties · 7 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 117 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Ohio, 31 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 83 of the state's 837 plants, with $10 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (63 cases). EPA has inspected 7 plants in the state, 7 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
Recent enforcement actions in Ohio
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fostoria City Dump Fostoria | Aug 2026 · FY2003 | Judicial case | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $15,000 | ECHO 05-2003-0653 |
| EPA's description: “CSO related referral. 1st Amended Consent Decree to extend the construction completion date to the 2029 date. CD Amendment does not affect the penalty, pollution reduction, or anything else.” | ||||||
| Doylestown WPCF Doylestown | Aug 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-1076 |
| Arlington Village-Arlington Village Arlington | Aug 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-1075 |
| EPA's description: “Village of Arlington WWTP AOC” | ||||||
| Hayden Heights Mhp Dublin | Jul 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-0328 |
| Port Clinton WWTP Port Clinton | May 2026 · FY1997 | Judicial case | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order With Penalty & Specified Cost Recovery | $60,000 | ECHO 05-1997-0389 |
| Defiance Water Pollution Control Plant Defiance | May 2026 · FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2024-0328 |
| Alger WWTP Alger | Mar 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-0317 |
| Oak Harbor WWTP Oak Harbor | Mar 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-0313 |
| Woodville WWTP Woodville | Feb 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2026-0309 |
| EPA's description: “Replaces AOC Finalized in March 2025” | ||||||
| Middleport Village Pws Middleport | Sep 2025 · FY2025 | Administrative order | National Drinking Water Regulations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2025-1048 |
| EPA's description: “The EPA is issuing Administrative Orders (AO or Order) to public water systems for failure to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA Region…” | ||||||
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 Ohio
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metropolitan Sewer Dis Little Miami WWTP Cincinnati | May 2025 · FY1998 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,290M | ECHO 05-1998-0750 |
| 2 | Muddy Creek WWTP Cincinnati | May 2025 · FY1998 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,290M | ECHO 05-1998-0750 |
| 3 | Mill Creek WWTP (1431070944) Cincinnati | May 2025 · FY1998 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,290M | ECHO 05-1998-0750 |
| 4 | Neorsd Westerly Wwt Complex Cleveland | Sep 2024 · FY2003 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,033M | ECHO 05-2003-0627 |
| 5 | Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center Cleveland | Sep 2024 · FY2003 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,033M | ECHO 05-2003-0627 |
| 6 | Eastern Ohio Regional WW Authority Bellaire | Sep 2024 · FY2003 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $1.2M | $3,033M | ECHO 05-2003-0627 |
| 7 | Akron WRF Akron | Nov 2023 · FY2003 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $500,000 | $905M | ECHO 05-2003-0628 |
| 8 | Middletown Wastewater Treatment Plant Middletown | Feb 1995 · FY1991 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $288,000 | — | ECHO 05-1991-0131 |
| 9 | City Of Elyria Wastewater Pollution Control Plant Elyria | Jan 2023 · FY2015 | Judicial case | Final Order Entered | $200,000 | $250M | ECHO 05-2015-0316 |
| 10 | Akron WRF Akron | Aug 1995 · FY1988 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $191,400 | — | ECHO 05-1988-0054 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 0 | — |
| FY2018 | 1 | — |
| FY2019 | 2 | — |
| FY2020 | 3 | — |
| FY2021 | 2 | — |
| FY2022 | 4 | — |
| FY2023 | 8 | — |
| FY2024 | 4 | — |
| FY2025 | 4 | — |
| FY2026 | 6 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Ohio: 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.