EPA v. BRIDGEWATER WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY

Case summary

On September 10, 2024, EPA entered into an administrative order on consent (Order) with the Town of Bridgewater, Massachusetts in which it agreed to complete a $56 million upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) by November 1, 2030. The Town is required to meet the phosphorus limits in its recently reissued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and address other treatment plant needs. Excess nutrients in receiving waters cause algal blooms that harm water quality, food resources and aquatic habitats by depleting the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. The Order also requires that by April 1, 2026, the Town complete and provide to EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP) a climate vulnerability assessment and incorporate appropriate remedial measures into the final design of the WWTF upgrades. EPA implements the NPDES program in Massachusetts but has worked in close coordination with the MA DEP in this matter.

Defendants (1)

• City of Bridgewater MANamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• BRIDGEWATER W W T F

  MORRIS AVENUE, BRIDGEWATER, MA, 02324

  Registry ID: 110070000723

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• BRIDGEWATER WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITYentered 2024-09-10

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2024-09-10Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2024-09-10Final Order Issued
• 2024-09-11Enforcement Action Data Entered