Grassroots Group Forming To Oppose Plans For Newtown Wastewater Plant

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A grassroots group is forming to oppose plans for a wastewater treatment plant that is being eyed along the southern border of Newtown Township.

The group, calling itself “Stop the Newtown Sewer Plant,” sent out a flier last week announcing plans to form alliances with residential developments and businesses in both Middletown and
Newtown townships to oppose plans for the plant.

“It is our hope that creating this network will help us to spread accurate and crucial information regarding the sewer plant project to the residents of our neighborhoods,” said the flier.

The Newtown, Bucks County Joint Sewer Authority is investigating plans to build a new, 2.5 million gallon per day sewer plant on Lower Silver Lake Road next to the future Wawa now under construction and not far from several residential developments across the border in Middletown.

In December, authority representatives told the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors that they are considering building and operating its own plant to avert large increases in wastewater treatment costs coming down the pike.

“As representatives of the Newtown Sewer Authority we have a fiduciary responsibility to protect our ratepayers. We take that very seriously," said the authority's vice chairman Jerry Schenkman,
noting that a preliminary look at the numbers show that owning and operating its own plant would stave off major future rate hikes which they see coming down the pike if they remain a wholesale customer with the BCWSA.

The authority currently conveys its wastewater to Philadelphia via the Neshaminy Interceptor which is owed and maintained by the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.

The future costs of repairing and maintaining the Neshaminy Interceptor along with the costs imposed by Philadelphia for conveyance and treatment are expected to run in the millions of dollars in the coming decades, costs which will be passed onto local ratepayers if the authority continues on its current course.

“We're very concerned about the impact of not doing anything," said Schenkman. "If nothing is done we will be at the hands of the county authority and the Philadelphia Waterworks. We're
doing a very extensive investigation and doing our due diligence ... We're studying it. Our idea is to protect the residents of Newtown from the possibility of economic catastrophe by staying with the county and Philadelphia. But we're open to ideas. And if we determine it's not practical to do it, not healthy to do it we won't do it."

The authority, which serves about 9,000 customers in Newtown Borough and Newtown Township, maintains 103 miles of sewer mains and five pump stations. Its flows are conveyed to Bucks County through the Neshaminy Interceptor which collects flows from 13 Bucks County municipalities, including Middletown, and directs them to Philadelphia for treatment.

The Sewer Authority had previously operated a sewer plant, but closed it in 1988 to "regionalize" wastewater treatment at the urging of the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection.

The authority's engineer, Terry Funk of Gannett Fleming, said members of the authority traveled
to Wolcott, Kansas City, to visit a treatment plant similar to the kind they'd like to build here. That plant uses advanced Aqua Nereda state-of-the-art technology, which would be used here to treat up to 2.5 million gallons per day and is effective in containing odors.

"We wanted to see it, smell it, hear it and see how it operates," said Funk. "When you think about wastewater treatment plants, all you think about is odor. It's the reason why we went to Wolcott to stand there and smell it for ourselves. I can tell you that inside there was an odor. If you stood outside the door to that building you couldn't smell anything. All of the odor was inside."

According to Funk, if the plant is built the authority is committed to maintaining a natural buffer at the site, to architecture that complements the surrounding area and to meeting and exceeding regulatory standards. The authority, she said, "would also work to ensure that the advanced technology we envision addresses any potential concerns from residents."

Nearby Middletown residents, however, voiced concern about the potential for odors coming from the plant, a negative impact on their property values, and the potential impact on the Core Creek watershed and Core Creek Park from the dumping of treated wastewater into the creek.

“We are organized to fight this project,” Middletown Township resident Bill Everett told the Bucks County Commissioners last week in seeking the county’s help in fighting the plant. “We are ready to meet with any county group you recommend that can help us. We are attending all relevant Newtown, Middletown and Lower Makefield meetings to educate everyone about the risk this project represents. You were instrumental in stopping the Aqua acquisition of Bucks County Water and Sewer for the benefit of all residents of Bucks County. We need your help again to stop the Newtown Sewer Plant.”

Everett continued. “Their plan to build a standalone treatment plant is opposite the regional sewer strategy recommended by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Even if you do not live nearby all residents should support our efforts to prevent irreparable and unnecessary damage to our environment. This plant is not needed.”

While the authority said it would be utilizing the latest technology to eliminate the typical odors associated with wastewater plants, Everett said the plant “will create a stink zone” of up to 1.5 miles that will likely impact about 12,000 people living in northern Middletown, areas of Newtown Township, and nearby Lower Makefield. “It will also impact about 1,000 small businesses including six daycare centers, schools and outdoor venues like the Newtown Athletic Club and Newtown Brewing.”

To read more about the proposed sewer plant, click here.

To read more about Stop the Newtown Sewer Plant, click here.