Credit: Gannett Flemming
Middletown Township residents packed the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday evening to sound off against a planned wastewater treatment plant.
The Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, responding to an invitation from local officials, detailed plans for a $128 million wastewater treatment facility intended to address capacity issues and provide greater local control over wastewater management.
The authority recently acquired a 17.5-acre site off Lower Silver Lake Road and University Drive near the Newtown Bypass, just a few hundred feet away from the border with Middletown Township. The land was purchased earlier this year for $9 million by the authority.
Credit: Chris English/NewtownPANow.com
Engineer Terry Funk, who is consulting on the wastewater plant project, highlighted that the new plant would use advanced Aqua Nereda technology to treat up to 2.5 million gallons per day.
The proposed plant would potentially discharge treated water into Core Creek or Neshaminy Creek.
Funk explained that officials from the authority visited a similar plant in Kansas, noting no detectable odors outside the facility and only a quiet hum that was inaudible from the site’s edge.
The authority has proposed keeping as much buffer space as possible, making the plant attractive, and create additional mitigation areas if needed.
The project could lead to long-term cost savings compared to staying with the current regional system run by the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, according to Funk.
The system is presently a wholesale customer of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, which has been raising rates to fund infrastructure projects.
The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority is taking on a $60 million upgrade to the Neshaminy Interceptor that runs through Lower Bucks County, including the Newtown area, and sends wastewater to Philadelphia to be treated by the Philadelphia Water Department. The system has capacity limits for development until the upgrade is completed.
Authority officials stated they are in the early stages of design and environmental assessments of the plant.
After a presentation from authority officials, public speakers called out concerns about the plant’s planned distance from homes, businesses, and community spaces.
Middletown Township Supervisor Chairperson Mike Ksiazek asked why the location was selected by the authority.
Jerry Schenkman, vice chairperson of the sewer authority, stated the location was available and fit the needs for a plant.
In response, Funk said the plant will be new treatment plant wouldn’t have impacts on the residents and businesses around it. She noted that modern technology has fought odors outside and she lives near three plants in Central Bucks County.
“We’re not that far along in the process,” she said.
The Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority previously explored a new plant off the Newtown Bypass near the George School property and the Crown Pointe neighborhood, but that effort didn’t move forward in 2013. There were concerns about any smell from the plant and the cost to stifle any odors. A Patch.com article from the time said the project was projected to cost $68 million
Many of the residents came from the Swan Pointe development and others came from surrounding neighborhoods and Newtown Township.
Gary Sondermeyer, a 40-year resident of Middletown Township and a longtime environmental permitting official in New Jersey, said he worried about potential odors from the plant.
“It is going to stink. I can tell you as a environmental professional that odors are the hardest thing to get rid of,” he said.
Speaking of comments made in the past by authority officials, Sondermeyer said there are dozens of small businesses and thousands of residents within a short distance of the site for the proposed plant. He added that there are day cares, gyms, and the under-construction Newtown Township Wawa just a short distance from the location.
“This is going to affect all of our property values,” Sondermeyer said, adding that he doesn’t believe the project is “preliminary” and he thinks it is close to being a done deal.
Peter Jordan, a Middletown Township resident, stated he believes the new plant will have odors coming from it. The resident stated that he believes the plant is “state-of-the-art,” but it will be one error away from flooding surrounding neighborhoods with “sewer gas.”
“You’re one pump failure away from gassing the neighborhood,” Jordan warned.
Funk said modern technology would practically eliminate it outside of the facility, citing a plant in the midwest that is of a similar design.
Andy McAloon, the vice chairperson of the Middletown Township Environmental Advisory Council, raised concerns about flooding that could come from the plant putting water in area waterways, like the Core Creek.
In response, Funk said modeling has been done to make sure the discharge from the plant will be sent to either the Core Creek or Neshaminy Creek. Steps will be taken to ensure the water levels are acceptable.
Kevin Deeny, a member of the Middletown Township Environmental Advisory Council, said he only heard of the plan after reading news reports about it recently. He stated that he has concerns about environmental impacts of the plant, including potential water quality impacts on Core Creek Park.
Felecia Alexander, a Middletown Township resident, worried that her grandchildren won’t be able to visit her if the plant causes toxic releases. She noted that she suffered a brain tumor that may have been caused by a toxic exposure while working as a teacher in New Jersey.
“I feel that it is so important to deal with health ramifications,” she said. “We need to protect it, we need to protect Core Creek Park, and we need to do it together.”
Several residents asked Middletown Township supervisors to file court actions against the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority to halt further movement on the plant.
Melissa Murray Rigney, an attorney and Middletown Township resident who lives near the Newtown Township site, pushed back on claims by the authority that plans are “preliminary.” She urged Middletown Township officials to fight against the plan in neighboring Newtown Township and that residents should be “offended” by the comments that the plans are preliminary.
“They know what they’re doing. They’re trying to sell us on an idea that maybe they can backtrack it,” she said, citing the millions already spent by the authority.
Residents also raised concerns that the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority backing out of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority wastewater system could impact prices for other systems that use the regional one.
Bradley Cooper, a Newtown Township resident who is not a movie star, came in solidarity with Middletown Township residents to fight the proposed plant and oppose development that overtakes green space.
Some speakers told the Middletown Township supervisors they weren’t just afraid of odors, but they were worried about possible health impacts from the wastewater treatment plant.
Ksiazek, the supervisors chairperson, said he only found out about the proposal several weeks ago when Supervisor Dana Kane mentioned it. He said the municipality is looking at all options and taking feedback from residents.
A number of residents thanked Middletown Township officials for hearing them out and urged them to do everything in their power to fight the plant.
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