EPA v. CITY OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Case summary

On 05/22/2025, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington lodged a modification to the 2013 consent decree for combined sewer overflows within the City of Seattle, Washington. The City requested modifications to the 2013 consent decree to allow for more time to control combined sewer overflows, citing increasing rainfall intensity and other impacts of climate change, supply-chain disruptions, and the increased costs of construction in the Seattle area, as support for its request. The proposed modification to the consent decree extends the completion date for some of the projects from 2030 to 2037 and commits the City to significant increases in wastewater storage and treatment capacity. The additional time also enables closer coordination between the City and King County on projects to reduce stormwater volumes, and additional planning and design work to ensure that new wet-weather control facilities are more resilient to a changing climate. The City estimates the cost of the injunctive relief included in the proposed CD modification to be up to $2.6 billion. The City estimated an increase of 25.96 million gallons of additional storage for the projects in the proposed CD modification.

Defendants (1)

• City of Seattle, WashingtonNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• SEATTLE CSO

  UNSPECIFIED, SEATTLE, WA, 98104-2311

  Registry ID: 110039705334

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (2)

• CITY OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTONentered 2025-05-22

  Primary law: CWA

• CITY OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - CONSENT DECREEentered 2013-07-03

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $175,000 · State/local: $175,000

Timeline (12 milestones)

• 2010-05-27Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2010-06-16Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2013-04-16Complaint Filed With Court
• 2015-02-06Send Demand Letter
• 2016-11-21Send Demand Letter
• 2017-05-25Send Demand Letter
• 2023-11-27Send Demand Letter
• 2024-11-15Final Order Lodged
• 2024-12-03Send Demand Letter
• 2025-05-22Final Order Entered
• 2025-09-23Send Demand Letter
• 2025-09-23Send Demand Letter