An Indiana-based citizens group opposing a planned power plant and data centers in Homer City plans to meet Sunday in Indiana borough.
The group will share information about a May 12 hearing regarding a permit for a 5.8-mile pipeline that would feed natural gas to the plant.
Concerned Residents of Western PA said the meeting, held from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Artists Hand store, 732 Philadelphia St., will offer guidance and resources for a public hearing hosted by the state Department of Environmental Protection. That hearing is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. May 12 at the Indiana Theatre, 637 Philadelphia St.
Leigh Hendrix, a member of the Concerned Residents, said the meeting at a small venue will be an opportunity for people to gather and discuss the proposed power plant.
“This is an opportunity for folks to get together to talk about the impacts of the power plant and to voice their concerns,” Hendrix said.
A rally opposing the proposed Homer City power plant is scheduled for 4 p.m. May 12 at the Indiana Regional Medical Center Park along Sixth Street.
The DEP said the hearing will focus on the application for a federal permit for the pipeline construction. The project includes the discharge of stormwater into Muddy Run, Blacklick Creek and various unnamed tributaries.
The pipeline would feed a 4.5-gigawatt power plant currently under construction. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the Homer City facility would generate more energy than two Hoover Dams. The dam generates approximately 2 gigawatts of power.
Concerned Residents is joined by several environmental organizations — Three Rivers Waterkeepers, PennFuture, Clean Air Council, Mountain Watershed Association and Protect PT — in opposing the pipeline and a metering and regulation facility. The groups are asking the DEP to determine that the permit application is administratively incomplete or requires substantial additional analysis and enforceable conditions before a permit is issued.
Opponents contend the project would involve clearing about 25 acres of trees and permanently maintaining the right of way without a plan to monitor the temperature of cold-water fisheries. Removing the canopy of trees that shade the streams could impact water temperature.
In a statement to the DEP, Three Rivers Waterkeepers said the project would not comply with state water quality standards without a thermal analysis of how the installation affects water temperature and sediment levels.