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]
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has established national limits for six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water.
The EPA announced Wednesday that levels of PFOA and PFOS — two types of PFAS commonly used in nonstick or stain-resistant products such as food packaging and firefighting foam — can’t exceed 4 parts per trillion in public drinking water.
As of Wednesday, public water systems that don’t monitor for PFAS have three years to start. If they detect PFAS at levels above the EPA limits, they will have two more years to purchase and install new technologies to reduce PFAS in their drinking water.
Read “EPA imposes first national limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water”