NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP - Three months ago, borough and township officials met in a public work-session to hear whether a state-of-the-art sewer treatment plant should be built on the Newtown Bypass where a now-shuttered waste-water facility stands.
At the Aug. 14 supervisors meeting, the possibility again surfaced of building a $68-million sewerage plant to handle 2.5 million-gallons-a-day (MGD).
At issue is whether the facility should be included in the township’s updated Act 537 sewer plan, which is mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) every 10 years.
However, just because it would be in the Act 537 plan doesn’t mean that the plant would ever be built.
Chairman Mike Gallagher stressed that it’s a preliminary plan, and in the “very early stages.
“In order to be built, it would have to be in our [Act] 537 plan first,” Gallagher explained, noting that it’s a potential option that the supervisors might want to consider to allow for future business and residential growth in the township.
Last summer, the DEP issued a prohibition on new sewer connections in the Newtown area after a hydraulic overload occurred at the Neshaminy interceptor which carries sewerage to the Philadelphia Water Department’s treatment facilities.
That moratorium is still in effect and will not be lifted until the capacity issue is addressed and infiltration problems are corrected by the 13 municipalities which utilize the interceptor. Newtown borough and township are included in that group of local governments.
At a May 26 joint work session, borough and township officials heard from the Newtown, Bucks County, Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA) about reopening and upgrading the former treatment plant along the south-side of the Newtown Bypass between State Street and Route 532.
The commercially-zoned site, which borders the George School and the Crown Point residential development, contained a sewer treatment facility from the 1960s until the late-1980s when officials closed the facility in favor of a more regionalized approach to waste-water treatment.
Township engineer Michelle Fountain told the supervisors that the state wants municipalities to “explore alternatives” in dealing with sewerage issues.
“You must show [the DEP] how you are going to treat sewerage from your businesses and residences,” she explained.
“Plans must be updated every 10 years and you must look at ways to treat sewerage every 10 years,” Fountain added.
Meanwhile, township manager Kurt Ferguson said that “more information must be obtained to determine if such a plant is economically feasible” and should be included in the Act 537 update.
According to Ferguson, a sewer treatment facility can always be added to an Act 537 plan after it is submitted to the state.
However, Supervisor Matt Benchener noted, “If it’s in the plan, it would be difficult to stop [a sewerage treatment plant] from going through.
“If we are compelled to do it we would lose some leverage,” he added.
Supervisor Phil Calabro suggested looking at whether neighboring communities might want to send their sewerage to such a facility, which could benefit Newtown financially.
“It would keep our costs down,” he claimed.
Chairman Gallagher said that if such a facility is built, Newtown would no longer be “held hostage” to the rising costs of sending sewerage through the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) system to Philadelphia to be treated.
“We would be masters of our own destiny,” he claimed, “and it would allow the township to issue building permits.”
But Supervisor Rob Ciervo pointed out that the NBCJWA has not requested that the township put a new sewer treatment facility in the 537 plan.
“I don’t know why we’re discussing this,” he maintained.
After 20 minutes of discussion, no action was taken on the matter.
At the Aug. 14 supervisors meeting, the possibility again surfaced of building a $68-million sewerage plant to handle 2.5 million-gallons-a-day (MGD).
At issue is whether the facility should be included in the township’s updated Act 537 sewer plan, which is mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) every 10 years.
However, just because it would be in the Act 537 plan doesn’t mean that the plant would ever be built.
Chairman Mike Gallagher stressed that it’s a preliminary plan, and in the “very early stages.
“In order to be built, it would have to be in our [Act] 537 plan first,” Gallagher explained, noting that it’s a potential option that the supervisors might want to consider to allow for future business and residential growth in the township.
Last summer, the DEP issued a prohibition on new sewer connections in the Newtown area after a hydraulic overload occurred at the Neshaminy interceptor which carries sewerage to the Philadelphia Water Department’s treatment facilities.
That moratorium is still in effect and will not be lifted until the capacity issue is addressed and infiltration problems are corrected by the 13 municipalities which utilize the interceptor. Newtown borough and township are included in that group of local governments.
At a May 26 joint work session, borough and township officials heard from the Newtown, Bucks County, Joint Municipal Authority (NBCJMA) about reopening and upgrading the former treatment plant along the south-side of the Newtown Bypass between State Street and Route 532.
The commercially-zoned site, which borders the George School and the Crown Point residential development, contained a sewer treatment facility from the 1960s until the late-1980s when officials closed the facility in favor of a more regionalized approach to waste-water treatment.
Township engineer Michelle Fountain told the supervisors that the state wants municipalities to “explore alternatives” in dealing with sewerage issues.
“You must show [the DEP] how you are going to treat sewerage from your businesses and residences,” she explained.
“Plans must be updated every 10 years and you must look at ways to treat sewerage every 10 years,” Fountain added.
Meanwhile, township manager Kurt Ferguson said that “more information must be obtained to determine if such a plant is economically feasible” and should be included in the Act 537 update.
According to Ferguson, a sewer treatment facility can always be added to an Act 537 plan after it is submitted to the state.
However, Supervisor Matt Benchener noted, “If it’s in the plan, it would be difficult to stop [a sewerage treatment plant] from going through.
“If we are compelled to do it we would lose some leverage,” he added.
Supervisor Phil Calabro suggested looking at whether neighboring communities might want to send their sewerage to such a facility, which could benefit Newtown financially.
“It would keep our costs down,” he claimed.
Chairman Gallagher said that if such a facility is built, Newtown would no longer be “held hostage” to the rising costs of sending sewerage through the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) system to Philadelphia to be treated.
“We would be masters of our own destiny,” he claimed, “and it would allow the township to issue building permits.”
But Supervisor Rob Ciervo pointed out that the NBCJWA has not requested that the township put a new sewer treatment facility in the 537 plan.
“I don’t know why we’re discussing this,” he maintained.
After 20 minutes of discussion, no action was taken on the matter.
Source: buckslocalnews.com
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