The long-promised Buc‑ee’s travel plaza in Mebane has hit a wall, and it is made of sewer pipe and legal briefs. The massive roadside stop has become the flashpoint in an escalating fight between neighboring towns Mebane and Graham over who should pick up the tab for roughly $85 million in sewer upgrades tied to Graham’s wastewater treatment plant. Mebane officials say Graham, which controls wastewater approvals for the shared system, has delayed or withheld key certifications contractors need to start underground work, and the dispute has now landed in Alamance County Superior Court.
At the center of the feud is an $84.6 million expansion Graham has planned for its wastewater plant and a basic question: how much of that bill belongs to Mebane. Graham contends Mebane should pay about a 21.4 percent share, roughly $18.1 million. Mebane argues its maximum obligation is closer to $10.7 million. That gap has turned into what the Triangle Business Journal has described as an $85 million dispute.
Mebane filed suit in December 2025, asking a judge for a declaratory judgment that would lock in what it actually owes under the parties’ agreement. The city is also asking the court to force Graham to sign “Flow Tracing for Sewer Extension” (FTSE) certifications for projects that want to connect to the plant. In the complaint, Mebane alleges Graham slow‑walked or withheld FTSE approvals for multiple developments, including the Buc‑ee’s site. As one example, the lawsuit points to an FTSE submitted on June 27, 2025 that was not signed until August 28, 2025, according to Alamance News.
Why a flow‑tracing signoff can stop a build
FTSEs and similar state capacity certifications are a crucial early checkpoint for new development. They confirm whether a wastewater plant has enough available capacity for additional sewer connections and are often required before anyone can start laying underground sewer lines. In practical terms, that makes the FTSE the first physical green light a project needs, so any snag at the wastewater plant level can stall an entire construction schedule…