OLD LYME — Town residents rejected a budget increase for a Sound View area sewer project Tuesday, with 72% voting against to proposal in a referendum that closed one chapter in a years-long local debate. Of the 1,288 residents who turned out to vote, 925 voted against expanding the budget to $20.5 million and 363 voted in favor. The rejection marks the end of a contentious process that pitted the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority leadership against residents of Sound View and Area B, who opposed the project over concerns about the costs they would bear. First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said she would not comment on next steps until speaking with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She also noted that Miami Beach would vote on the project next Saturday. The beach area sewer project, pushed forward by DEEP, was intended to address the high density of houses and septic systems along the shoreline. The state agency had offered to cover nearly half the cost through grants and forgivable loans, which would have reduced the burden on homeowners in the beach area.

https://ctexaminer.com/2025/12/16/old-lyme-residents-overwhelmingly-reject-beach-area-sewer-project/