EPA v. KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD SEWER SYSTEM

Case summary

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 operates four (4) wastewater treatment plants along with approximately 1,300 miles of collections and transmission systems regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA) as implemented by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). KUB has had numerous sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from its sewer collection system as well as exceedances of the effluent limits of its NPDES permits and bypasses of secondary treatment works at its treatment plants (blending) resulting in violations of the CWA and KUB's NPDES permits. With a goal of addressing SSOs from its collection system, KUB elected to participate in EPA Region 4's Management, Operations and Maintenance (MOM) Project. As a participant, KUB prepared a self-assessment of its wastewater facilities and collection systems in October of 1999. In cooperation with Region 4, TDEC took the lead in overseeing the appropriate regulatory response to ensure that KUB implemented necessary corrective actions such as management, operation or maintenance programs; sewer rehabilitation work; and sewer capacity projects. At that point, however, KUB's level of voluntary participation began to wane. After several years of failed attempts to achieve an agreement, TDEC unilaterally issued to KUB in January of 2003 an order requiring specific steps to address the SSO problem. KUB appealed the unilateral order to the Tennessee Water Quality Control Board. TDEC and KUB resolved the appeal through the negotiation of an agreed order which was adopted in May 2003 by the Water Quality Control Board despite the negative comments on the agreed order provided by Region 4, the City and the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), a local environmental citizens group. Because the TDEC/KUB agreed order does not appropriately address the significant SSO problems currently being experienced by KUB, Region 4 has initiated this referral. In addition, the City and TCWN have both given notice of their intent to file a citizens suit pursuant to Section 505 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1365. While the sixty (60)-day time period provided in Section 505 has expired, the City and TCWN have not yet filed a complaint. TCWN's citizens suit notice included alleged violations resulting from not only the SSOs but also effluent limit exceedances and blend

Defendants (1)

• KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARDNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (4)

• KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD (KUB) - LOVES CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT (STP)

  5760 SANDIS LANE, KNOXVILLE, TN, 37914

  Registry ID: 110000551661

• KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD - EAST BRIDGE STP

  1523 SAYLORS FORD ROAD, KNOXVILLE, TN, 37806

  Registry ID: 110009706345

• KUB - KUWAHEE STP

  2015 NEYLAND DR., KNOXVILLE, TN, 37916

  Registry ID: 110009492307

• KUB - FOURTH CREEK STP

  1500 LYONS BEND ROAD, KNOXVILLE, TN, 37919

  Registry ID: 110039849714

Statutes cited

• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD SEWER SYSTEM (REFERRAL)entered 2005-02-11

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $167,000 · State/local: $167,000 · SEP: $2,000,000

Timeline (8 milestones)

• 2003-09-30Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2003-10-03Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2004-12-01Final Order Lodged
• 2004-12-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 2005-02-11Concluded
• 2005-02-11Final Order Entered
• 2022-06-16Enforcement Action Closed
• 2022-06-16NPDES Closed