New engineer prepares sewage plan for Sugarloaf Twp.

Sugarloaf Township has appointed Barry Isett and Associates as its new lead engineering firm, tasking municipal project manager Andrea Martin with preparing a crucial sewage management plan for the Tomhicken Road area, mandated by state law Act 537 of 1966. This plan is critical as the township navigates multiple significant development proposals. Among these, LBT Investment Group of Chicago is actively seeking to develop a data center, having pursued a curative amendment to the township's zoning ordinance through legal action. Separately, NP Hazleton Holdings 1 LLC has proposed a data center comprising 15 buildings at a site primarily in Hazle Township, but also accessible from Tomhicken Road. These data center ambitions face both infrastructural and community hurdles. The Sugarloaf Twp. planning commission's review of related plans, including those from Sugarloaf Logistics for warehouses, is delayed because the necessary sewage plan for the Tomhicken area remains incomplete. Resident John Zola, expressing a sentiment that the warehouse project is "dead," also spearheads a group opposing the construction of a 500-kilovolt power line, which is intended to serve the new data centers, through the township. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is closely monitoring the township's progress on the sewage plan and compliance, with communications manager Patti Monahan noting ongoing meetings. Further complicating infrastructure, the Conyngham Sugarloaf Joint Municipal Authority, serving other parts of Sugarloaf Township, is currently facing fines under a consent agreement. It is undertaking an expansion of its overloaded treatment plant on Ackerman Lane, aiming to increase capacity from 350,000 to 500,000 gallons daily. This expansion is essential for the DEP to lift a ban that has restricted new home and business construction in the area.