Amazon's 36-Building Data Center Plan Advances to Review in Indiana County, PA Amid Water Concerns
Indiana County planners accepted Amazon's application for a proposed 36-building data center campus in Homer City and began a 90-day review, but the decision does not approve construction. Residents questioned the project's water use and the proposed wastewater permit for the generating station, particularly potential thermal pollution in Blacklick Creek.
The Indiana County Planning Commission voted to accept Amazon's application for a 36-building data center campus spanning about 1,100 acres in Center and Blacklick townships near Homer City. The action starts a 90-day review and allows county engineers and consultants to examine stormwater, traffic, noise and water-use issues, but officials emphasized that it is not approval to build the project.
Residents expressed opposing views, with some arguing that Amazon had not supplied enough information and urging the county to apply the same standards to the large developer as to other applicants. Supporters cited potential jobs and economic growth. At a separate Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection hearing, speakers challenged a proposed amendment to the Homer City Generating Station's industrial wastewater permit, warning that heated cooling-tower discharges into Blacklick Creek could harm aquatic life and the creek's trout fishery. The DEP had not decided on the amendment, and public comments were accepted through Oct. 19.