EPA v. City of Fowler Pretreatment

Case summary

On August 1, 2019, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reissued the Town of Fowler?s (Town) NPDES Permit, which included a new condition that the Town develop and submit to the EPA, for approval, a pretreatment program by September 30, 2020. The Town?s NPDES permit requires a pretreatment program to prevent pass-through and interference at the publicly owned treatment works (POTW), which has occurred in the past due to discharges received from a slaughterhouse within the Town?s service area. As of January 20, 2022, the Town had not developed and submitted a pretreatment program to the EPA for approval; therefore, on January 20, 2022, the EPA issued the Town a Notice of Violation and Opportunity to Confer letter. On March 24, 2022, the EPA and the Town entered into an Administrative Order for Compliance on Consent (AOC) that requires the Town to develop and submit a pretreatment program to the EPA for approval by November 24, 2022. EPA has direct implementation authority for the pretreatment program in Colorado, which means EPA directly oversees the implementation of pretreatment programs in Colorado.

Defendants (1)

• Town of FowlerNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• FOWLER WWTF

  34692 N HWY 96, FOWLER, CO, 81039

  Registry ID: 110010054234

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• City of Fowler Pretreatmententered 2022-03-24

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2022-03-24Final Order Issued
• 2022-04-07Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2023-01-22NPDES Closed
• 2023-01-22Enforcement Action Closed