An Expert's Critique of the JMZO 5G Wireless Ordinance

As you may know, the Newtown Joint Municipal Authority is engaged in an ongoing project to build their own wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in a location that is immediately adjacent to Middletown Township.

At the 13 January 2025 Middletown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, the township's Solicitor and Engineer reviewed plans for how the township can make sure it is involved in the approval process and make their feelings known, especially with regard to the environmental impact.

Calling itself "Stop the Newtown Sewer Plant," the group sent out a flier announcing plans to organize against the project (see image above).

“It is our hope that creating this network will help us to spread accurate and crucial information regarding the sewer plant project to the residents of our neighborhoods,” said the flier.

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[Published in Bucks County Courier Times on Sept 15, 2013]

A seeming tidal wave of resident opposition swayed the Newtown Township supervisors to unanimously give a thumbs down to a proposed sewage treatment plant in the township. 

The plant had been proposed by the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority for a spot on the south side of the Newtown Bypass between Routes 413 and 532. The NBCJMA serves more than 8,600 sewer customers in Newtown Township and Newtown Borough.

At Wednesday night’s [Sept 11, 2013] standing-room-only meeting, after almost two hours of public comment almost all against the plant, the Newtown Township supervisors voted 5-0 to not include the treatment plant in the township’s upcoming 537 plan update that will outline how officials plan to handle sewage in the future.

Also, the supervisors directed township Manager Kurt Ferguson to send a letter to the Newtown authority asking it to “cease any further exploration” of the treatment plant proposal.

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This is my personal summary of the January 6, 2025, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More

• Reorganization Notes
• Public Comment
  • St. Mary's Chief of Surgery Regarding Proposed WWTP
• Engineer’s Report
• Other Items of Interest
  • Official Video

What Residents are Saying about Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant, Year 2024 in Images, Middletown & Newtown Need to Collaborate to Improve Pedestrian Safety Crossing the Bypass!, more...

At the 6 January 2025 Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) public meeting, David Hardeski, Chief of Surgery at the St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown, expressed concern about the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) proposed by the Newtown Sewer Authority. For more on that, read "Residents Have Concerns Regarding Proposed Sewage Treatment Plant"; https://rebrand.ly/WWTPsvy_PatchArticle

"This 'smell radius' may extend into the property currently occupied by St. Mary's Medical Center and I worry about the impact on this institution," said Dr. Hardeski.

At the 16 October 2024, Newtown Sewer Authority Board meeting, Mr. Mark Friend, who lives at 15 Stoopville Rd in Newtown, questioned the high increase in his sewer bill. Mr. Friend has well water. His sewer rate increased from $90 per quarter at the end of 1992. In 2023 the rate went up to $125. Now (2025) the rate is $183 per quarter. A 100% increase over 2 years. Hear what the sewer authority told him.

The Newtown Sewer Authority presented details of its plan to build a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) on Lower Silver Lake Rd at the December 11, 2024, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting where several local area residents spoke up against the plan.

I was interested in what other residents had to say about this plan. So, I created a Sewage Treatment Plant Survey. I asked respondents what, if any, were their concerns and questions. To date (1/3/25) 171 responses have been collected.

I summarize the results, including comments, in this Patch article...

Welcome to “The Year 2024 in Images.” There were many unique and interesting issues that I as a Newtown Township supervisor confronted in 2024. This is a selection of images and stories that document what I consider the most important news items and issues of interest to Newtown Township PA residents.

At the 16 December 2024 Middletown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Middletown Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) Vice Chair Andy McAloon expressed concerns about potential flooding caused by the plant, which will dump million of gallons per day of effluent into Core Creek.

At the 16 December 2024 Middletown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Kevin Deeny - a member of Middletown's Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) - expressed concern about the environmental impact of the planned sewage treatment plant on Lower Silver Lake Rd bordering Middletown.

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.

Environmental Concerns

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.

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.

[Read FULL TRANSCRIPT of their comments.]

Read More...

It was standing room only at the 16 December 2024 Middletown Township Board of Supervisors meeting. Dozens spoke out against the Newtown Sewer Authority's (NBCJMA) proposed sewage treatment plant to be located on the border with Middletown. Here are just a few short snippets of comments I heard:

“…it’s been said that nobody in Newtown Township is affected by this… but, I’m upset because it affects Middletown! Newtown – be neighborly and consider your neighbors!”

“Remember Elcon! Pass a resolution opposing this plan.” [Read “Victory! Falls Supervisors Reject Elcon Plan”; https://sco.lt/5QNYOG]

“State of the art does not mean odor free!”

“That stink goes a lot further than a mile!”

“…address the flooding problem.” [Environmental Advisory Council member]

“We're interested from a water quality standpoint from environmental standpoint…” [Environmental Advisory Council member]

“It is late in the day… go to court. Let them eat that!”[Free advice from a lawyer.]

“When I saw those charts, which were thoroughly disingenuous, my eyes almost popped!” [Banker who works with numbers all day]

“We have a rule in the classroom… clean up your own mess! If you build a sewage treatment plant in Newtown and you leave your mess for Middletown to clean up, you're not playing nice in the sandbox.” [Former kindergarden teacher]

“The sniff test is subjective. Children on the spectrum ]at a school 900 feet from the proposed site] can be hypersensitive to smells and can smell things that you or I cannot smell. Consider those with special needs.”[Psychologist]

“What was missing here was the study. A lot of stuff is being done under the table. We really got to know what’s going on. Time is of the essence. When shit hits the fan it will be too late.” [Retired engineer]

“What I’ve seen here today is lack of credible data to support their project. There has to be a risk analysis study.” [Actuary]

This is my personal summary of the December 11, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS).

Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More

• 2025 Budget Adoption
• Public Comment
  • Delancey Court Residents Vs. 413 Durham Rd Project
• NBCJMA Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) Presentation
  • View the Entire Presentation
  • Why is the Authority Pursuing a New WWTP?
  • Life Cycles Cost Comparison – BCWSA vs New WWTP
  • Comments From the Public
• Electric Vehicle Charging Station JMZO Amendment
• November 2024 Police Report
• Other Items of Interest
  • My Detailed Notes
  • Official Video

At the 11 December 2024 Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, several knowledgeable Newtown and Middletown residents made comments regarding NBCJMA's (aka Newtown Sewer Authority) proposal to build a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant on Lower Silver Lake Road.

See the NBCJMA's presentation before the BOS...https://rebrand.ly/NBCJMApreso11dec2024 

Newtown resident Frank McCarron had concerns about the cost estimates and especially regarding the projected rate increases. Middletown residents - including Gary Sondermeyer and Peter Jordan - were concerned about the odor and were skeptical that there would not be any odor. Mr. Sondermeyer is an expert in these matters.

This Zoom meeting focused on environmental impact of proposed sewage treatment plant, Newtown-Yardley Road sidewalk proposal, gas leaf blower survey results. more..

Aqua Pennsylvania has completed a PFAS treatment system at its Hatboro well station in Montgomery County, the fifth facility updated to meet national drinking water standards. The new system removes PFAS —known as forever chemicals —from drinking water sources from two wells serving nearly 13,000 people in the Hatboro area.

Aqua Pennsylvania secured $5.5 million in grant funding through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) to construct the facility at no direct cost to customers.

“Aqua Pennsylvania is doing everything possible to ensure customers are not saddled with the cost of construction for PFAS removal,” Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca said said. “We have and will continue to aggressively seek grants and low-interest loans to keep these necessary improvements from becoming a financial burden for our customers.”

This is my personal summary of the November 26, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.

Access the 2024 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2024 BOS meetings to date. Also, access the (UNOFFICIAL) 2024 BOS Voting Record.

Agenda Items, Discussions, Decisions, and More

• Public Comment
  • Sewage Treatment Plant Environment Concerns
  • Newtown-Yardley Rd Sidewalk Proposal
• Planning Commission Report
• Land Development
  • Newtown Artesian Water Company Seeks Waiver
• Engineer’s Report
  • Newtown-Yardley Rd/Tara Blvd Crosswalk
  • Business Commons Sidewalk Grant Adjustment/Amendment
• 2025 Budget Discussion
• Other Items of Interest
  • My Detailed Notes
  • Official Video
  • Video Transcript

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At the 26 November 2024 Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting, Township Engineer Dominic Cundari gave an update on the Business Commons sidewalk project.

As to using excess grant funds to extend the sidewalks with safety curbing along Newtown-Yardley Road, Mr. Cundari indicated he did a preliminary some preliminary specifications of what the cost would be I and that the next step would be to stay in touch with PennDOT "to see if we could get those funds approved ... from from the previous Grant and secondly ... to do some specifications for a bid package ... it would be it would be a separate project."

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At the November 26, 2024, BOS meeting, Swan Point, Middletown resident Bill Everett expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed sewage treatment plant on Lower Silver Lake Road.

Mr. Everett spoke about the impact on Core Creek - the “Crown Jewel” of the Bucks County park system. He noted that the delay in Wawa construction was due to the need to drill a waste water tunnel in bedrock UNDER Core Creek. He recommended an INDEPENDENT environmental impact analysis.

At the 13 November 2024 Newtown Township Board of Supervisors (BOS) public meeting, Friends Village residents Tom Cadwallader and Kip Cherry as well as Terry Christiansen requested that the township pass an ordinance to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. Read more about that...

Newtown Township residents think such a Gas Leaf Blower Ban would be "Ridiculous" & "Overreaching" - Newtown, PA - Over 300 Newtown Township residents responded to my Gas Leaf Blower Ban Survey. Many were not in favor. Read what they had to say: https://rebrand.ly/BlowerSvyResultsArticle

Summary of 13 November 2024 BOS Meeting This is my personal summary of the November 13, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary. Access the 2024 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2024 BOS meetings to date.

• NBCJMA – Facilities (aka Sewage Treatment Plant) Report
• Public Comment
  • Proposed Gas Leaf Blower Ban
• Engineer’s Report
  • Business Commons Sidewalk Project
• October 2024 Police Report
• 2025 Budget Amended
• Other Items of Interest
  • My Detailed Notes
  • Official Video
  • Video Transcript