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Residents press Middletown board after Newtown authority outlines proposed wastewater plant near township border
Summary
Newtown Sewer Authority presented plans for a 2.5-million‑gallons‑per‑day treatment plant near Middletown's border; residents raised widespread concerns about odor, flooding, environmental impacts on Core Creek and Lake Luxembourg, property values and a perceived lack of public notice. The authority said planning is preliminary, that DEP discharge limits include enhanced nutrient removal, and that Middletown has no formal vote but is invited to participate in reviews.
Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority representatives outlined a preliminary plan to build a wastewater treatment plant adjacent to the Middletown border and answered more than three hours of resident questions and objections at the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 16.
Jerry Shankman, vice chairman of the authority, said the proposal stems from long‑term concerns about the hydraulically overloaded Neshaminy interceptor and rising regional costs. “We have a fiduciary obligation to protect our residents,” Shankman said, and the authority has begun a slow, stepwise evaluation of treatment options and financing.
Warren Gormley, special projects manager, said the authority has evaluated a 17‑acre parcel near the new Wawa and that a preliminary preferred treatment process is the AquaNarada technology, a system used in Europe and in limited U.S. installations. The authority said it has requested preliminary discharge limits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and described the project as at roughly a 30% design stage. “We’ve requested and…
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