The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has issued the City of Chillicothe a notice of violation dated Oct. 14, 2026, and placed the city in significant noncompliance with the pretreatment program requirements of its wastewater permit. The action follows a two-day Pretreatment Compliance Inspection conducted Aug. 10 and 11, 2026, at the city’s Easterly wastewater treatment plant. The notice was signed by Emily Poling of Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water, Southeast District Office.
The Easterly plant, at 405 Environmental Way, treats about 2.5 million gallons per day and discharges to Lick Run and the Scioto River under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit 0PD00003, which took effect Dec. 1, 2025. Chillicothe’s pretreatment program, which regulates industrial discharges into the city system, was originally approved on March 29, 1985.
The first violation found that the city’s pretreatment coordinator, identified as Eric Vannatter, was not knowledgeable about key aspects of the approved program. According to the notice, recent turnover in the position left the coordinator undertrained to carry out those responsibilities.
The second violation cited the city’s failure to submit Quarterly Industrial User Violation reports for January, April and July 2026 by the 15th of the month, as required. Ohio EPA said no quarterly reports had been submitted since October 2025. The January and April reports arrived Sept. 25 but were incomplete and inaccurate, the July report still had not been received, and annual reports for 2025 and 2026 were also late.
The third violation involved Herr’s Foods, a snack maker on East 7th Street and one of the city’s significant industrial users. Herr’s did not submit required self-monitoring reports from September 2025 through July 2026, and Ohio EPA found no records for September 2025 through June 2026 except for March 2026. The agency said the city also failed to follow its Enforcement Response Plan, issuing no timely notice of violation to Herr’s and no newspaper publication of the noncompliance. Ohio EPA recorded no violation by Herr’s of pretreatment discharge standards themselves.
Inspectors also noted other gaps involving the city’s three significant industrial users, Herr’s Foods, Adena and Kenworth. Kenworth had sampling gaps, and Howmet and Adena were found to have expired discharge permits.
Ohio EPA directed the city to submit, within 30 days of receiving the letter, documentation and plans for returning to compliance for each violation. The agency warned that failure to comply with Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6111 may result in administrative or civil penalties under section 6111.09.
The findings come while the Easterly plant is undergoing a complete upgrade of its treatment systems. The plant was previously in significant noncompliance for violations involving E. coli, pH and ammonia, according to the notice.