EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Tennessee
41 formal actions at 28 of 226 plants · $3.5M in penalties · 33 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 41 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Tennessee, 9 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 28 of the state's 226 plants, with $3.5 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (20 cases). EPA has inspected 15 plants in the state, 33 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
Recent enforcement actions in Tennessee
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denzil Bowman Wastewater Treatment Plant (greeneville Stp) Greeneville | Aug 2026 · FY2026 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $3,000 | ECHO 07-2026-0178 |
| EPA's description: “Facility land applied biosolids when their biosolids violated Table 1 for Arsenic.” | ||||||
| Manchester STP Manchester | Oct 2025 · FY2026 | Administrative order | Effluent Limitations - NPDES Toxic & Pretreatment Effluent Standards | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 04-2026-1001 |
| EPA's description: “OCTOBER 29, 2025 - ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ON CONSENT On October 21, 2024, EPA inspectors, accompanied by a TDEC inspector, conducted a Compliance Evaluation Inspection {CEI) of the City's STP and WCTS.…” | ||||||
| Dickson STP Dickson | Oct 2025 · FY2025 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 04-2025-1019 |
| EPA's description: “On February 12, 2025, EPA inspectors, accompanied by a TDEC inspector, conducted a Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI) of the Respondent?s STP and WCTS. The inspection was conducted to evaluate…” | ||||||
| Sevierville (mccroskey Island) STP Sevierville | Jan 2025 · FY2024 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Unilateral Administrative Order Without Adjudication | — | ECHO 04-2024-1022 |
| Moccasin Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant Chattanooga | Sep 2024 · FY2010 | Judicial case | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order With Penalty | $476,400 | ECHO 04-2010-9030 |
| Hamilton County Wastewater Treatment Authority, Signal Mountain STP Chattanooga | Jul 2024 · FY2015 | Judicial case | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order With Penalty | $598,490 | ECHO 04-2015-9007 |
| EPA's description: “JULY 15, 2024 - CONSENT DECREE This is a Clean Water Act enforcement case against a water and wastewater utility in Hamilton County, Tennessee (Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Authority, or…” | ||||||
| Lynchburg STP Lynchburg | Dec 2022 · FY2022 | Administrative order | Sewage Sludge Disposal | Final Order With Penalty | $3,000 | ECHO 07-2022-0119 |
| Knoxville Utilities Board - East Bridge STP Mascot | Jun 2022 · FY2003 | Judicial case | NPDES Discharge without a Permit | Final Order With Penalty | $334,000 | ECHO 04-2003-9052 |
| EPA's description: “The Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) is a municipally-charted corporation created under Tennessee law and incorporated by the Charter of the City of Knoxville, Tennessee (the City). KUB owns and…” | ||||||
| Newport Utilities Board Wastewater Treatment Plant Newport | May 2022 · FY2019 | Administrative order | Sewage Sludge Disposal | Final Order With Penalty | $8,300 | ECHO 07-2019-0185 |
| Metro Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Nashville | Mar 2022 · FY2022 | Administrative order | Prevention of Accidental Release/Risk Management Plans (RMPs) | Final Order With Penalty | $2,100 | ECHO 04-2022-0200 |
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 Tennessee
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton County Wastewater Treatment Authority, Signal Mountain STP Chattanooga | Jul 2024 · FY2015 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $598,490 | $300M | ECHO 04-2015-9007 |
| 2 | Whites Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Nashville | Mar 2009 · FY2006 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $564,038 | $400M | ECHO 04-2006-9027 |
| 3 | Nashville Dry Creek STP Madison | Mar 2009 · FY2006 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $564,038 | $400M | ECHO 04-2006-9027 |
| 4 | Metro Central Wastewater Treatment Plant Nashville | Mar 2009 · FY2006 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $564,038 | $400M | ECHO 04-2006-9027 |
| 5 | Moccasin Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant Chattanooga | Sep 2024 · FY2010 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $476,400 | $250M | ECHO 04-2010-9030 |
| 6 | Knoxville Utilities Board - East Bridge STP Mascot | Jun 2022 · FY2003 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $334,000 | $530M | ECHO 04-2003-9052 |
| 7 | Oak Ridge STP Oak Ridge | Oct 2012 · FY2012 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $171,000 | — | ECHO 04-2012-4532 |
| 8 | City Of Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant Columbia | Oct 2014 · FY2014 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $76,800 | — | ECHO 04-2014-4506 |
| 9 | Waverly STP Waverly | Nov 2016 · FY2016 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $47,200 | — | ECHO 04-2016-4524 |
| 10 | Lick Creek Valley (mosheim) Wastewater Treatment Plant Midway | Oct 2013 · FY2013 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $20,000 | — | ECHO 04-2013-4514 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 0 | — |
| FY2018 | 1 | — |
| FY2019 | 1 | $8,300 |
| FY2020 | 0 | — |
| FY2021 | 3 | $5,505 |
| FY2022 | 2 | $5,100 |
| FY2023 | 0 | — |
| FY2024 | 1 | — |
| FY2025 | 1 | — |
| FY2026 | 2 | $3,000 |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Tennessee: 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.