EPA v. MANCHESTER WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY

Case summary

EPA's recent sewage sludge incinerator (SSI) regulations for existing sources at 40 CFR Part 62, Subpart LLL (Federal Plan Requirements for SSI Units Constructed On or Before October 14, 2010) seek to ensure that existing sewage sludge incinerators at wastewater treatment facilities comply with performance standards and emission limitations for Clean Air Act pollutants such as mercury and sulfur dioxide (which are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects.) The Manchester Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is owned and operated by the City of Manchester, New Hampshire, has failed to reach compliance with the standards by the required date of March 21, 2016 and is currently exceeding emissions limitations for several harmful pollutants, including mercury and sulfur dioxide. EPA's referral to the Department of Justice seeks to establish a compliance schedule, assess an appropriate penalty, and require mitigation measures. The regulations at issue are directly implemented by EPA. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is supportive of the case. Region issued six Clean Air Act Notices of Violation (NOVs) to sewage sludge incinerators for violations of the Federal Plan Requirements for Sewage Sludge Incineration Units Constructed on or Before October 14, 2010, published in the federal register on April 29, 2016, and found at 40 CFR Part 62 Subpart LLL. EPA issued NOVs to sewage sludge incinerators located in West Haven and New Haven, Connecticut, Manchester, New Hampshire, Woonsocket and Cranston, Rhode Island, and Brockton, Massachusetts. On November 29, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire entered the city of Manchester Consent Decree. The CD provides a July 11, 2019 deadline for the facility to commence operation of a mercury control system, and requires that it come into complete compliance with the applicable requirements in 40 CFR Part 62, Subpart LLL, by January 12, 2020. In the interim, the city of Manchester will take measures to limit the mercury content of sewage sludge received at the incinerator. The city estimates it will spend more than $6 million to comply with the terms of this settlement, which includes installing and operating pollution control equipment at the incinerator. The facility will also pay a civil penalty of $131,800.

Defendants (1)

• City of Manchester, NHNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• MANCHESTER WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

  300 WINSTON ST, MANCHESTER, NH, 03103

  Registry ID: 110002320809

Statutes cited

• CAA 129 — Solid Waste Fuel Combustion

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• MANCHESTER WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITYentered 2018-11-29

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $131,800

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2017-04-04Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2017-04-04Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2018-09-11Final Order Lodged
• 2018-09-11Complaint Filed With Court
• 2018-11-29Final Order Entered
• 2023-01-23Air Resolved
• 2023-01-23Enforcement Action Closed