Nonprofit environmental groups are seeking support for their legal challenge to a massive data center project in Indiana County.
The gas-fired plant planned to power the Homer City project could be the biggest in the country when complete. It could emit as much pollution as all the cars on Pennsylvania’s roads.
Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and the Sierra Club are appealing the state air permit granted to the project, arguing regulators did not engage enough with the surrounding community and that they accepted flawed methodology on emissions.
They’re partnering with new crowdfunding platform WHEN Justice, which is dedicated to supporting legal efforts to protect health and the environment.
Jacqueline Biner, WHEN’s chief executive and legal officer, said the winners of legal fights are often the ones with the most money.
“And that’s what we’re really trying to change is that we’re really trying to level the playing field and make sure that justice isn’t just about who can afford the best experts,” Biner said.
The groups are trying to raise $200,000 to pay five expert witnesses to study the impacts of the plant on air quality, public health, and climate change, as well as the claimed economic benefits of the project.
They hope to raise the money by early September.
The extensive technical analysis required to challenge large industrial projects makes it very difficult for nonprofits or community groups to fight them without help, said Alex Bomstein, executive director of Clean Air Council.
“This crowdfunding campaign could help ensure that the Homer City community has access to justice,” Bomstein said. “It’s crucial that decisions affecting public health and the environment are based on a complete and thorough review, and that no community is denied that opportunity because of the cost.”
Biner said the campaign lets people “vote with their dollars.”
“It allows people to fund high-impact campaigns and become part of the justice system where they normally don’t get to be, and really helps create a movement, too,” she said.
Some Indiana County officials are excited to welcome the data center and power plant, which are planned for the site of a former coal-fired power plant that shut down in 2023.
After a meeting with Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick about the project in May, Byron Stauffer with Indiana County’s Center for Economic Operations called it a “game changer” for the community that is helping bring family-sustaining jobs into the area.
McCormick has been a big supporter of the project. He said it will help make Pennsylvania “energy dominant” and more competitive in the artificial intelligence industry.
