Sevierville Approves Sewer Package: $53,655 EPA Penalty, Birchwood Lift Station, Emily Drive Line
On Sept. 21, Sevierville aldermen approved a $53,655 EPA penalty tied to the city’s sewer plant plus three sewer projects: a Birchwood lift station rebuild, a low-pressure line for about 15 Emily Drive homes, and Murphy Road pipe replacement.
On Sept. 21, 2026, Sevierville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved paying a federal penalty for sanitary sewer violations at the city’s wastewater plant, The Mountain Press reported. The agenda lists the payment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at $53,655. The EPA consent agreement attached to the same packet sets the civil penalty at $53,600.00. Both figures appear in the city’s own document, and the packet does not explain the $55 difference.
The penalty item did not travel alone. The same agenda carried a contract award for the Birchwood Sewer Lift Station, an engineering task order for a new low-pressure sewer line serving about 15 homes on Emily Drive, a 60-day time extension on the Apple Barn pump station job, and engineering for a third phase of pipe replacement in the Murphy Road area.
The board approved every item in the package, according to The Mountain Press: the $53,655 EPA payment, a master services agreement and the $26,500 Emily Drive task order with Consor Engineering, the Apple Barn change order with Brabston, Inc., the Birchwood lift station award to Brabston at $735,752.88, and $50,000 for Murphy Road Phase 3 engineering.
For Sevierville homeowners, the package shows where the city is spending on the sewer system and which streets are next.
What the EPA found at the plant
The consent agreement covers the city’s treatment facility at 2295 McCroskey Island Road. According to the agreement, the plant discharges through Outfall 001 into the French Broad River.
On March 7, 2024, EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) performed a Compliance Evaluation Inspection of the plant. The agreement lists what inspectors saw that day, including a grit and grease removal unit offline because two blowers were inoperable, a nonfunctioning paddle unit in the oxidation ditch, and a sludge dewatering belt press that was off-line.
EPA sent the city a Notice of Violation on June 5, 2024, and held a show cause meeting on June 17, 2024. An Administrative Order on Consent followed on Jan. 17, 2025, requiring a Corrective Action Plan and quarterly reports.
The agreement also alleges that, based on Discharge Monitoring Reports, the plant had violated its effluent limits during the preceding 13 quarters. The parameters it lists include total residual chlorine, E. coli, total ammonia nitrogen, and sanitary sewer overflows in both dry and wet weather.
What the city says it has fixed
The city’s board memo describes the same history in plainer terms. It says EPA audited the system in 2024 and found Clean Water Act violations for the previous 13 quarters, including overflows, stations that needed upgrades, and a treatment plant undersized for the flows it was receiving.
Under the order on consent, the memo says, the city had to upgrade certain lift stations and complete I&I work, meaning the repair of pipes that let groundwater and stormwater leak into the sewer. It says the city has taken all necessary actions, the largest being the wastewater treatment plant expansion, which the memo says is now running at its full 8.4 MGD (million gallons per day) capacity.
The memo says paying the penalty completes the penalty phase of the order, leaving only final reports. The consent agreement gives the city 30 calendar days from its effective date to pay.
The Sept. 21 sewer items at a glance
| Item | What the packet says |
|---|---|
| EPA penalty (agenda item 29) | $53,655 on the agenda; $53,600.00 civil penalty in the EPA consent agreement |
| EPA docket | CWA-04-2026-1007(b) |
| Plant location | 2295 McCroskey Island Road; Outfall 001 to the French Broad River |
| Plant capacity after expansion | 8.4 MGD, per the city memo |
| Birchwood Sewer Lift Station (item 33) | $735,752.88 on the agenda and memo; $739,867.00 apparent low bid in the engineer’s letter |
| Emily Drive sewer design (item 31) | $26,500 task order; about 1,100 feet of low-pressure line for about 15 homes |
| Apple Barn pump station (item 32) | 60-day time extension, no cost |
| Murphy Road Phase 3 (item 34) | $50,000 engineering; about 1,650 feet of gravity sewer and 7 manholes |
Birchwood lift station: two bid figures
A lift station pumps sewage uphill when gravity alone cannot move it. The city memo calls the Birchwood upgrade budgeted and says the current station is in disrepair, undersized for current flows, and at the end of its life.
The agenda and memo list the award to Brabston, Inc. at $735,752.88. The recommendation letter from the city’s engineer, Ardurra Group, says six bids were received Aug. 25, 2026, and that Brabston, of Knoxville, was the apparent low bidder at $739,867.00. The packet does not reconcile the two numbers. The memo notes Brabston also worked on the Apple Barn lift station, where the board was asked to approve a no-cost, 60-day contract extension for long lead times on plug valves and electrical switchgear.
Emily Drive: about 15 homes off septic
The item with the most direct effect on individual homeowners is a design contract for Emily Drive. The scope prepared by Consor Engineering calls for about 1,100 linear feet of 2-inch low-pressure sanitary sewer to carry sewage from approximately 15 residential grinder pump stations to the city’s gravity system.
The line would start at Emily Drive and Douglas Dam Road and connect to the gravity sewer along United Boulevard near the road serving Catlettsburg Elementary School. The task order totals $26,500 for project management, design, and TDEC permitting. Consor assumes a notice to proceed by Nov. 1, 2026, and about three months from that date to signed drawings.
The scope also spells out who does what. The city would install the main line and the residential pump stations. The owner and resident would be responsible for the utility connections at the pump station, including the service line under the house and electrical power.
Murphy Road: third round of pipe replacement
The city memo says Murphy Road Phase 3 is the third project in the area and covers 1,650 feet of old concrete pipe that has deteriorated to the point of failure, with excessive groundwater getting into the system. The engineering agreement with OHM Advisors is capped at $50,000, and the scope covers about 1,650 linear feet of gravity sewer and 7 manholes.
What it means for Sevierville homeowners
Sewer work rarely makes a listing description, but it shapes what buyers ask. A few practical points:
- Septic versus sewer matters. If you live on or near Emily Drive, a future public sewer connection can change how buyers and inspectors look at your property. Keep any city letters about the project with your house records.
- Know your share of the work. The Emily Drive scope puts connection work under the house and the power hookup on the owner and resident. If you plan to sell, find out where your home stands before a buyer’s inspector asks.
- Infrastructure supports growth. A larger plant and new lift stations are part of what allows new subdivisions and commercial projects to move forward around Sevierville.
Questions to ask before you list
Is the home on public sewer, septic, or a grinder pump? Has the city contacted you about an extension? Are there any open permits on the service line? Clear answers make for a cleaner inspection period.
Sevier County growth policy is moving on other fronts too. See Sevier County Commission Set to Vote Oct. 19 on Flood Rules Tied to New FEMA Map Panels and Sevierville Approves Road Deal for Foothills at Red Bank — 223 Homes Now, Hundreds More Possible.
Sevierville dates to watch
- Sept. 21, 2026, 6:00 p.m. — Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Sevierville Civic Center, Council Hall (items 29 through 34).
- Within 30 days of the consent agreement’s effective date — EPA civil penalty due.
- By Nov. 1, 2026 — assumed notice to proceed for Emily Drive design; about three months to final drawings.
Wondering how infrastructure work near you affects your price? Start with a free home valuation, or request a cash offer if you want a firm number now.
Why is Sevierville paying an EPA penalty?
An EPA consent agreement says a 2024 inspection and discharge reports showed violations at the city’s sewer plant, including effluent limit violations over 13 quarters and sanitary sewer overflows. The city memo says it has taken corrective actions, including a plant expansion.
How much is the Sevierville EPA sewer penalty?
The Sept. 21, 2026, agenda lists $53,655. The EPA consent agreement in the same packet sets the civil penalty at $53,600.00, due within 30 calendar days of its effective date.
What is happening on Emily Drive in Sevierville?
A $26,500 task order with Consor Engineering covers design and TDEC permitting for about 1,100 feet of low-pressure sewer serving about 15 homes, running from Emily Drive and Douglas Dam Road to United Boulevard.
What is the Birchwood Sewer Lift Station project?
It is a budgeted rebuild of a lift station the city says is in disrepair, undersized, and at the end of its life. The agenda lists $735,752.88 for Brabston, Inc.; the engineer’s letter lists Brabston’s apparent low bid as $739,867.00.
How big is Sevierville’s sewer plant now?
The city memo says the wastewater treatment plant expansion is complete and now running at its full 8.4 million gallons per day capacity.
Source links
- City of Sevierville — Board of Mayor and Aldermen Agenda and Packet, Sept. 21, 2026 (includes EPA Region 4 Consent Agreement, Docket No. CWA-04-2026-1007(b))
- The Mountain Press — Sevierville approves land donation to Habitat for Humanity (Sept. 22, 2026 recap of the Sept. 21 board votes)
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- Sevierville Annexes 66 Acres on Old Newport Highway on Third Reading
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