Residents press Middletown board after Newtown authority outlines proposed wastewater plant near township border

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 received what’s called preliminary discharge limits,” an authority representative said, adding the limits reflected “enhanced nutrient removal” comparable to Chesapeake Bay standards.

The presentation drew immediate and sustained opposition from Middletown residents and local experts. Kevin Deeny, a member of Middletown’s Environmental Advisory Council who said he has 46 years of wastewater experience, warned the proposed effluent path would pass through Core Creek and Lake Luxembourg — resources Middletown has been restoring under MS4 programs — and that any added nitrogen and phosphorus could set back those efforts unless state numeric standards are strict. “You will be judged on whether that restoration plan for the lake is successful by what happens in the lake,” he said.

Residents focused on three recurring concerns: odors and airborne contaminants, near‑term flooding and hydrology, and process transparency. Multiple speakers argued that the site lies close to hundreds of Middletown homes, small businesses and sensitive facilities — daycare centers and a school serving children with special needs — and warned of quality‑of‑life and property‑value impacts. “I’ve been to very many wastewater treatment plants, and I’ve never been to one that doesn’t stink,” environmental professional Gary Sundermeyer said. He and others cited variability in odor events, truck traffic for biosolids removal, and the difficulty of preventing episodic releases even at modern plants.

Residents also questioned timing and notice. Several speakers said the community learned of the project only in recent weeks and that the authority had already acquired property by eminent domain. The authority replied that the land became available and that lack of similarly sized parcels in Newtown limited options; it emphasized that no permanent DEP permit application has been filed and that the presentation was intended to be transparent and solicit input from neighbors.

On costs and scale, authority staff said a preliminary 30‑year life‑cycle estimate is approximately $128 million; the proposed plant design capacity was described as about 2.5 million gallons per day with an allowance for modest growth. Authority representatives said those numbers are preliminary and subject to further engineering, environmental, and regulatory review.

Township officials said they are treating the meeting as a starting point and pledged to explore legal and technical options to protect Middletown interests. Chair Wright told residents the board would consult legal counsel and the township engineer and consider measures such as a formal resolution, intermunicipal coordination, or a task force to review impacts. Multiple residents urged the board to commission independent technical reviews and to seek early access to any draft technical reports and DEP submissions.

Next steps: the authority said it will proceed with additional 30%‑level design work and coordinate with regulators; Middletown officials said they will follow up with counsel and staff to identify options and ask the authority for ongoing document sharing and meetings.

Because the project would be sited in Newtown, final approvals would be decided there; Middletown’s board said its role is advisory but vowed to represent nearby residents’ concerns as the process advances.