CLEVELAND, Ohio — The city of Akron is set to be at least 290 days behind schedule in completing an underground tunnel project it agreed to in a settlement it reached with the EPA to reduce sewer runoff into the Cuyahoga River, according to court documents filed this week.

Akron reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that required the city to have the mile-long Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel be fully operational by the end of 2018. The city said it is not projected to finish it until Oct. 17, according to a status report filed by the Justice Department on Monday.

Attorneys for the city have also told the Justice Department that further delays are likely, wrote Justice Department trial attorney Bonnie Cosgrove.

The city’s settlement, known as a consent decree, was signed by U.S. District Judge John Adams in 2014. It requires a series of taxpayer-funded fixes to be completed by 2028 to bring its sewer system into compliance with the Clean Water Act, and stop old sewers from overflowing into the Cuyahoga River.

The cost of the fixes is estimated to be more than $1.2 billion.

The city has promoted the tunnel-boring machine, named Rosie, as it works toward completing the largest project required in the consent decree. It is designed to hold more than 25 million gallons of storm water and sewage during heavy rains.

Attorneys for the city of Akron wrote in a status report that says it kept the U.S. EPA and the state of Ohio appraised of delays.

“The OCIT is progressing, however, like all complex construction projects, initial projections have been revised as the project developed,” the city said in a statement. "This is the largest single public project in the City’s history, and it has required longer than projected to reach full operation,” the statement continued.

Both the Justice Department and the city filed status reports following an April 22 order from Adams. The judge wrote that he learned for the first time days earlier that the city was not in compliance with the consent decree.

The Justice Department’s status report says the delay may result ”in the discharge of hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated combined sewage that would not have otherwise been discharged,” though the actual numbers may depend on the length of the delay, the amount of rainfall and whether the tunnel performs as expected.

The city also faces possible penalties for missing deadlines. The Justice Department wrote that it has not yet sought penalties, which it calculates to be $1.285 million.

“The United States takes very seriously its role in overseeing implementation of the Consent Decree’s remedial measures,” the Justice Department wrote. “Together with the State of Ohio, we are evaluating all enforcement options, which may include stipulated penalties or other measures.”

The city said in its statement that a contractor would be required to pay any penalties imposed as part of the consent decree. It also said it has sought to save money on the project through various means.

The city’s status report, written by Roetzel & Andress attorney Terrence Finn, says the city spent more than $650 million for the design and construction of completed projects and those currently under way, the city’s status report says.

It also notes that 65 percent of the required projects were completed, with another 27 percent also underway.