The Department of Environmental Protection will conduct a public meeting and hearing this week to gather input on Homer City Generating Station’s application for modifications to the power company’s discharge obligations into Blacklick Creek.
The event will be held on Wednesday at the Homer-Center High School auditorium, with the public meeting from 5 to 6 PM, followed by the formal hearing, which will begin at 6 o’clock and last until testimony is complete or until 7:30, whichever comes first.
According to the DEP Fact Sheet regarding the application, “the proposed system will continue to operate as a closed-cycle recirculating system, with the cooling tower blowdown discharging primarily to Blacklick Creek…or, alternatively, to Two Lick Creek” (from the energy campus’s seven cooling towers.) Later in the document, the summary includes, “The cooling water will be recycled until its quality is no longer suitable for use…from its high concentration of minerals and total dissolved solids (TDS). Once its quality is degraded, it will be discharged via Outfall 027.”
Representatives of DEP’s Clean Water Program will be in attendance. If you wish to offer testimony at the hearing, you can visit this story on our website to find out how.
LINKS:
Individuals who wish to present testimony at the public hearing must contact Fernando Treviño Special Deputy Secretary, at ftrevinoma@pa.gov or 717-783-7753 a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the hearing to reserve a time to present testimony.
Individuals providing testimony are requested to submit a written copy of their verbal testimony by e-mail to RA-EPNPDES_NWRO@pa.gov after providing testimony at the hearing.
In addition to oral testimony, written testimony of any length may be provided to DEP at the hearing or sent via email to RA-EPNPDES_NWRO@pa.gov no later than midnight, October 14, 2026.
