Buc‑ee’s Mebane project stalled by $84.6M sewer dispute between Mebane, Graham

The long‑planned Buc‑ee’s travel plaza in Mebane has been delayed after a municipal dispute over sewer costs between the City of Mebane and the City of Graham landed in Alamance County Superior Court, and a North Carolina Department of Transportation engineer moved the expected opening from 2026 to mid‑2027. The litigation stems from a proposed $84.6 million expansion and upgrade to Graham’s wastewater treatment plant that local officials disagree about how to allocate.

Buc‑ee’s would be the chain’s first North Carolina location, a 75,440‑square‑foot travel plaza on 32 acres near I‑85/40 and Trollingwood‑Hawfields Road. Mebane’s city council approved rezoning for the site in early 2024, but contractors cannot begin underground sewer work without Flow Tracing for Sewer Extension approvals and the certifications that follow.

Graham has told local officials that Mebane should cover about 21.4 percent of the $84.6 million upgrade, a share Graham calculates at roughly $18.1 million. Mebane’s court filing counters that its maximum legal obligation under the April 2017 wastewater agreement is $10.7 million and asserts Mebane “was never informed about or involved in planning the $84.6 million WWTP upgrade,” the suit says, adding that Mebane is “maximally responsible” to pay no more than that amount. The April 2017 agreement also shows Mebane agreed to pay $2.7 million to Graham over 20 years for treatment of 750,000 gallons per day and allocated plant capacity at 78.57 percent for Graham and 21.43 percent for Mebane, with agreed‑upon improvements to be shared.

The dispute is not only about dollars. Mebane’s complaint alleges Graham has withheld or “slow‑walked” Flow Tracing for Sewer Extension, or FTSE, approvals that the 2013 Commerce Park agreement required Graham to “timely review and sign.” Those FTSE signoffs are central because several developments planned sewer reroutes through the GKN pump station and the Cherry Lane Pump Station and need FTSE signoffs to connect to the Graham WWTP.

Projects identified in reporting as affected include the Buc‑ee’s plaza, a Koury Corporation‑led mixed‑use center planned across the interstate, the final phase of Cambridge Park, and other subdivisions that expected to hook into Graham’s system. Contractors, developers and municipal officials have told local media that without FTSE signoffs they cannot obtain the certifications necessary to start underground sewer construction.

Hoodline framed the conflict as a regional standoff, saying, “The long‑promised Buc‑ee's travel plaza in Mebane has hit a wall, and it is made of sewer pipe and legal briefs,” and other coverage has described the situation as an “$85 million dispute,” a rounding of the $84.6 million upgrade figure. The suit is pending in Alamance County Superior Court; the filing date, hearing schedule and any formal payment demands from Graham have not been publicly posted in court records cited in available reporting.

Resolution of whether Mebane must cover roughly $18.1 million, or is capped at $10.7 million, will determine whether FTSE approvals resume and when the underground sewer work for Buc‑ee’s and the Koury and Cambridge Park projects can proceed. Local officials in Graham and Mebane have not provided on‑the‑record statements in the public excerpts reviewed; the court record and municipal meeting minutes will be the next places to watch for formal deadlines and decisions that will set construction timetables.