A Right-to-Know request has revealed a stunning twist in Newtown’s abandoned wastewater treatment plant saga: land taken through eminent domain is now being offered back to the original owner for $11.5 million, the exact amount paid by the sewer authority. The documents show the property on Lower Silver Lake Road was condemned for a proposed WWTP that was later scrapped—after the land was acquired and sewer rates were raised by 47% to help finance the purchase.
Under Pennsylvania’s Eminent Domain Code, when a public use is abandoned, the condemning authority must offer the property back to the condemnee—a little-known provision that turns this case into what can only be described as “eminent domain in reverse.” The situation is further complicated by uncertainty over ownership and notice, with multiple entities potentially entitled to respond to the buyback offer, raising fresh questions about process, accountability, and risk to taxpayers.
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The bigger issue remains unresolved: what happens next?
If the land is sold back, will sewer rates ever come down? If it isn’t, should the property be preserved as undeveloped open space rather than returned to the development pipeline? With millions already spent and a major public project abandoned midstream, this single RTK document exposes how costly—and consequential—opaque decision-making can be for a community.
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