Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club Appeal Air Pollution Permit for Nation's Largest Proposed Fracked Gas Power Plant for Homer City Data Center

Philadelphia, PA (December 17, 2025) - Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club appeal Homer City gas plant air quality plan approval no. 32-00457A, issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“the Department”) last month.

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. Although a plant that size could produce enough electricity to power over three million homes, this plant is being built for a 3,200-acre AI 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 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 Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board challenging errors in the plan approval, including violations of the 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).

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Clean Air Council is a member-supported environmental organization serving Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions. For over 50 years, the Council has been dedicated to protecting everyone’s right to a healthy environment. The Council works through a broad array of sustainability and public health initiatives, including public education, community action, government oversight, and enforcement of environmental laws. For more information, please visit www.cleanair.org.

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) is a member-supported, statewide environmental advocacy nonprofit and watchdog fighting against potential threats to PA's clean air, pure water, and healthy climate. Since 1998, PennFuture has combined legislative advocacy and legal enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, educational outreach, and civic engagement support for just and equitable environmental outcomes that improve the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians. 
PennFuture has stood at the forefront of major environmental milestones in Pennsylvania as a bold and vigilant defender of communities against pollution and environmentally harmful policies. www.pennfuture.org