Updated: 3/8/2023

Henrico County Water Reclamation Facility (“Henrico WRF” Or “Facility”), located about five miles southeast of Richmond, receives sewage for treatment from Henrico County and portions of the City of Richmond, Hanover County, Goochland County, and other industrial plants. Through its operations, Henrico has discharged and continues to discharge raw sewage, pollutants, sediments, and bacteria into the James River in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”) and the pollution limits in its Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination system (VPDES) permit. The Facility has been subject to at least 40 notices of violation and five different consent orders from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) since it began its operations in November 1989.

As a result, on December 6, 2021, CBF and the James River Association who are represented by the Environmental Integrity Project (“Plaintiffs”), filed suit against the County of Henrico, the owner of the Facility, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The suit sought to require the County to fix its failing sewage system and reduce impacts to public health and the Chesapeake Bay, and achieve compliance with the CWA and its VPDES Permit. In January 2022, Henrico filed a Motion to Dismiss the case which the Court denied in part and granted in part. The Court held that the Plaintiff’s claims against Henrico could proceed but barred the Complaint’s request for civil penalties under the CWA. Following this ruling, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Reconsideration specifically related to whether the VA DEQ had “commenced” an enforcement action before litigation was initiated when it held a private meeting without public notice. The Judge denied the Motion following directed discovery and supplemental briefing on this issue. However, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in a similar case supporting our arguments on commencement. As a result, the Court issued an order on August 1st vacating its previous ruling from April 11th.

A mandatory settlement conference was held on September 13, 2022 which resulted in an agreement being reached, by a joint effort of the parties, to settle the case. The Agreement proposed an Amendment to the County’s December 2021 Consent Order, issued by DEQ, requiring the implementation of several corrective and preventative measures at the WRF. The draft amendment was out for public comment through February 15, 2023, and DEQ accepted the amendment on February 17th. As a result, Plaintiffs filed a Stipulation of Dismissal with the Court on February 27th, in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

In addition to the Consent Order amendment, the Agreement requires Henrico County to invest $1 million to develop a supplemental environmental project by 2029. The project will be selected in collaboration with CBF and the James River Association. This project is an important step toward reducing pollution to the James River and its tributaries. The County will also develop a web-based map representing the location of Sanitary Sewer Overflows (“SSOs”) and undertake public notification measures.

CBF will continue to monitor the Facility and the environmental projects to ensure the terms of the Agreement are met.

CBF issued a Press Statement on March 1, 2023, announcing the Agreement. The Agreement can be found in its entirety here.

This case was led by CBF’s Environmental Justice Staff Attorney Taylor Lilley, current Director of Litigation Ariel Solaski, and attorneys from the Environmental Integrity Project.