PA Environment Digest Blog: Environmental Groups, Our Children's Trust Appeal Air Quality Permit For Homer City A.I. Data Center 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plant In Indiana County

On December 18, the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club announced the appeal of the Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus 4.5 GW natural gas plant air quality plan approval no. 32-00457A, issued by the Department of Environmental Protection in November.

The Indiana Gazette reported 13 young Pennsylvanians, ages 2 months to 21 years represented by Our Children’s Trust and Jason Asbell of Pennsylvania law firm Gibbel Kraybill and Hess, also filed an appeal arguing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s decision violates their constitutional rights to life and liberty and Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment. Read more here

On November 18, 2025, the Department issued an air quality plan approval for the Homer City Redevelopment project, paving the way for what would be the nation’s largest fracked gas power plant to open in Pennsylvania.

The groups provided this background.

Although a power plant of that size could produce enough electricity to power over three million homes, this plant is being built for a 3,200-acre A.I. data center campus.

Local communities would suffer the consequences of increased air pollution, noise, odors, and compromised drinking water with minimal return benefits.

Additionally, each year the plant operates, the groups said the toxic air pollution it spews could cause the premature deaths of dozens of people across the country and millions of dollars in health costs.

The effect of the climate pollution it emits would likely contribute to the deaths of additional thousands of people globally by the end of the century for each year the plant operates, caused by the increased global heating.

This unlawful permit was issued in spite of 571 comments submitted by the public, strongly opposing (and identifying significant errors in) the proposed plant’s draft plan approval.

Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club have filed a Notice of Appeal with the Environmental Hearing Board challenging errors in the plan approval, including violations of the federal Clean Air Act, the Air Pollution Control Act, Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment (Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution), and the Department’s own Environmental Justice Policy.

“We will not stand by idly while our government greenlights a devastating and illegal toxic data center power plant,” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “The people of Indiana County are rising up to say no to job-killing data centers and their private power plants, and Clean Air Council is proud to stand arm-in-arm with them.”

“Building the country’s largest fracked-gas power plant to generate electricity primarily for AI data center operations runs entirely counter to the goal of moving towards the clean energy economy Pennsylvanians want and deserve,” said Jessica O’Neill, PennFuture’s Managing Attorney for Litigation. “In issuing this permit, DEP has failed to fulfill its obligations under Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment, as well as its obligations to consider and work to minimize the climate change consequences of electrical power generation.”

Local residents express support for this lawsuit:

“As members of Concerned Residents of Western PA (CROW), an area group opposed to the planned power plant in Homer City, we fully support the legal appeal by the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club challenging the air permit recently granted by DEP to the Homer City Redevelopment LLC. Given that the plant will have long-lasting and devastating impacts on our region’s environment, we are grateful for the legal action by the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club. This appeal will help to ensure that project developers act in the public interest to follow air quality standards intended to protect our health and the future of our community,” said Concerned Residents of Western PA (CROW).

Click Here for a copy of the notice of the appeal.

(Photo: 3,200 acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus under development.)

NewsClips:

-- Indiana Gazette: Environmental Advocates, PA Youths Appeal Permit For Homer City Data Center Power Plant

-- Our Children’s Trust Files Appeal Of DEP Air Quality Permit For Homer City A.I. Data Center Power Plant

Resource Links - Homer City Data Center:

-- DEP Issues Air Permit For Largest Natural Gas Power Plant In US To Feed Proposed 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Site Construction Of Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plant In Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Homer City Generation Chapter 105 Permit Covering Permanent Loss Of 441 Feet Of Stream To Develop Part Of A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Permits For 5 Large Electric Transmission, Substation Projects In 14 Counties, Including 150 Mile Piney-Seward and Erie South-Piney Transmission Project Crossing 8 Counties [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On A Revised Title V Air Quality Permit For The Homer City Generation Coal-Fired Power Plant In Indiana County To Allow The Transfer Of Air Emission Reduction Credits For Data Center Project [PaEN]

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