EPA v. EXETER WWTF

Case summary

EPA issued an Administrative Order (“Order”) to the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire ( Town or “Exeter”) on September 30, 2010. The Order is based upon violations of the Town's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit and Section 301(a) of the Clean Water Act (“Act”), 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a). The NPDES permit prohibits combined sewer overflow (“CSO”) discharges that cause water quality standards violations and requires annual E. coli bacteria monitoring of the CSO outfall discharges to Clemson Pond. Water quality standards violations attributable to Exeter’s CSO outfall discharges documented by the data collected by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (“NHDES”) and the Town’s failure to annually monitor discharges from its CSO outfall are violations of the NPDES Permit. Although Exeter has worked to separate the combined sewer system, untreated overflows from the Town's collection system continue to occur. Standards violations, therefore, also continue. Exeter has also reported numerous sanitary sewer overflows (“SSOs”) from its collection system to waterways from locations for which the Town is not authorized by its NPDES Permit to discharge pollutants. The Order requires the Town to submit to EPA and to the NHDES a Scope of Work and schedule for preparing a draft Long-Term CSO Abatement Program. The program must recommend a plan and a proposed schedule for addressing all remaining CSO outfall discharges to result in full NPDES permit compliance and compliance with New Hampshire’s water quality standards as soon as practicable. The Order also includes the following requirements: (1) an assessment of the Town’s Collection System Capacity, Management, Operation and Maintenance (“CMOM”) programs; (2) preparation and submission of a CMOM corrective action plan including a proposed implementation schedule to prevent SSOs in the future; (3) annual CMOM program implementation reporting; (4) a CMOM reassessment in the third year; and (5) quarterly work progress/work projections reporting.

Defendants (1)

• EXETER WWTFNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• EXETER W W T P

  13 NEWFIELDS ROAD, EXETER, NH, 03833

  Registry ID: 110002320863

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations
• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• EXETER WWTFentered 2010-09-30

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (2 milestones)

• 2009-10-14Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2010-09-30Final Order Issued