A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection public meeting and hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14, on a wastewater-discharge permit amendment for Homer City Generating Station in Indiana County. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Homer Center High School Auditorium, 70 Wildcat Lane, Homer City. DEP says staff will answer questions from the public before a formal hearing begins at 6 p.m.
The notice concerns an amendment to the station’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, application PA0005037A-2. It is a water-permit proceeding tied to the generating station; it is not a vote on Amazon Web Services’ preliminary land-development plan for a proposed data center campus at the Homer City Energy Campus. The two proceedings involve the same broader site but different agencies and approvals.
What the permit hearing covers
The Pennsylvania Bulletin notice says the amendment would modify industrial waste discharges from Outfall 027 into Blacklick Creek. The creek is classified for trout stocking, aquatic life, water supply and recreation, according to the notice. DEP also states that the discharge is not expected to affect public water supplies. The hearing gives the department a forum to receive testimony on the permit amendment; the notice does not describe it as a final decision on the separate land-development application.
DEP says it received numerous comments during the draft-permit comment period requesting a public hearing and information session. The notice says the agency determined that there was significant public interest and that a hearing was warranted. That describes why DEP scheduled the event, not the outcome of the permit review.
How to attend or offer testimony
The public meeting is set for 5 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 14, followed by the hearing, which can run until all testimony is given or 7:30 p.m., whichever comes first. Both are at the Homer Center High School Auditorium, 70 Wildcat Lane, Homer City, Pennsylvania. Attendees can ask DEP staff questions during the meeting before formal testimony begins.
People who want to speak must contact Fernando Treviño, DEP special deputy secretary, at ftrevinoma@pa.gov or 717-783-7753 at least 24 hours before the hearing to reserve a time. Oral testimony is limited to three minutes. DEP asks organizations to designate one speaker each. The notice says unreserved attendees may have a chance to speak if time permits.
Written testimony of any length can be submitted at the hearing or emailed to RA-EPNPDES_NWRO@pa.gov by midnight on Oct. 14. People who speak are asked to email a written copy of their oral testimony afterward. DEP says written and verbal testimony will be weighed equally. Residents with accessibility questions can contact Treviño through the contact information in the official notice.
How it relates to the proposed campus
The Indiana County Office of Planning and Development says it received a preliminary land-development plan from Amazon Data Services on Aug. 28 for the PIT100 Masterplan in Center and Black Lick townships; the county lists AWS as the anticipated end user. That application is under county planning review. The Oct. 14 DEP event, by contrast, addresses a permit amendment for Homer City Generation’s station. Readers following the proposed campus should track those review paths separately rather than treating the DEP hearing as approval or denial of AWS’s plan.
The DEP notice and background documents are available on the department’s Homer City redevelopment page. The Sept. 12 Pennsylvania Bulletin contains the full hearing notice, including the testimony procedures. The county’s planning office posts the separate Amazon preliminary plan information.