Newcastle approves purchase of 14 acres for MBR wastewater plant and guarantees landowner limited capacity

The Newcastle City Council approved a real estate purchase contract with DRM 527 LLC to buy about 14 acres near the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. 62 to site a membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater treatment plant. Councilors and staff said the site selection supports both the city's long-range wastewater needs and a planned Chickasaw Nation medical facility.

City staff said initial needs were estimated at five acres but that long-term capacity requirements would make five acres insufficient if the plant is built to meet a larger discharge permit (engineers discussed a 1,000,000-gallon-per-day initial phase). Staff said engineers laid out equipment from vendor suppliers and concluded about 14 acres would be needed for the plant and future expansions. Part of the sale includes a guarantee to the landowner for access to 10% of initial plant capacity; any additional capacity would be the landowner's cost to develop.

The council noted the purchase price reflected a negotiated per-acre price that staff described as favorable relative to earlier discussions. Funding was described as coming from the city's fund balance; a motion to approve the purchase and use fund balance carried unanimously.

Staff said the selected plant approach (larger fixed concrete structures rather than many modular packaged units) was chosen to reduce long-term maintenance and pump replacement costs despite a higher initial installation cost. No construction contract was approved at the meeting; staff and engineers will proceed with design and permitting, including any discharge-permit applications needed to support the facility's capacity.