Newtown Submits Act 537 Plan to DEP

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to submit the Act 537 Plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection at Monday's meeting.

The township's plan will now seek DEP approval and then go on to the design phase.

Supervisor Chairman Joseph Catania thanked township staff and Township Manager Michael Trio who spent a lot time getting to this point.

"Hopefully it won't be too long before we get to the design phase and get some shovels in the ground," Catania said.

The proposed plan timeline would include design of the system within six to nine months of plan approval, immediately followed by applications for permits, followed by the bidding process and the process of securing financing, immediately followed by construction, according to the resolution.

(See the attached resolution in full.)

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Act 537 was enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1966 and requires that every municipality in the state develop and maintain an up-to-date sewage facilities plan.

The main purpose of a municipality’s Sewage Facilities Plan, according to DEP, is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens living in the municipality. "It is the plan for correcting malfunctioning onlot septic systems, overloaded treatment plants or sewer lines, and wildcat sewers. The existence of untreated or improperly treated sewage in surface water, on the surface of the ground, or in the groundwater allows disease organisms to reach people through drinking water, through insects or other animals, and through direct contact," according to DEP.