Opposition continues on proposed Yough river power plant
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A proposed natural gas-fueled power plant a few miles north of West Newton would pump more pollution into a region that already has poor air quality, environmentalists and activists said at a community meeting this week.
More than 100 people attended the meeting organized by the Environmental Health Project of Pittsburgh, which detailed some of the concerns posed by residents about the plant proposed for Elizabeth Township.
Invenergy of Chicago, through its subsidiary Allegheny Energy Center, wants to build a 639-megawatt power plant on 17 acres of farmland in Smithdale, across the Westmoreland County border from Collinsburg.
Nathan Deron, an environmental data scientist for the Environmental Health Project of Pittsburgh, said the plant could spew more harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds into an area where air has been impacted by plants such as U.S. Steel Corp.’s Clairton coke works and the Tenaska Westmoreland Generation Station natural gas-fueled power station in South Huntingdon.
Invenergy has not responded to requests for comment on its proposed plant.
“It’s not for our needs. How many power plants do we need,” former state Rep. David Levdansky of Forward Township said after the meeting.
Levdansky was referring to Pennsylvania being the second-largest net supplier of total energy to other states, behind only Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The power generated by Invenergy plant will be placed on the PJM Interconnection electrical grid for distribution to 13 states and Washington, D.C., said Levdansky, who served in the state House for 25 years before losing a reelection bid in 2010.
Jim Hoffman of Elizabeth Township is part of a contingent of local residents who oppose the power plant.
“How many power plant plans can you put within this area?” Hoffman said.
Within the past decade, two plants along the Monongahela River in Washington County have been decommissioned — the former Duquesne Light Co. plant at Elrama and the former West Penn Power Co. Mitchell Generation Station near New Eagle.
Scott Taylor, president of the Protect Elizabeth Township citizens group, said the group will appeal the township’s decision to rezone the proposed site from rural to light industrial.
Environmental groups such the Clean Air Council, Mountain Watershed Association in Champion, Protect Elizabeth Township and Yough Communities C.A.R.E. (Conserving our Air, Rivers, Environment) in West Newton have joined forces in attempt to block approval for the plant and an appeal has been filed on the Allegheny County Health Department’s decision in October 2021 to issue Invenergy an installation permit, but not an operating permit.
Lisa Graves Marcucci, Pennsylvania community coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project, said the health department’s decision to grant the installation permit was flawed, based on the pollution that the plant will emit.
The appeal of the permit does not change the status of it being issued, but Invenergy was given an 18-month extension in March to begin construction by Oct. 4, 2024, or the permit would expire, said Neil Ruhland, a health department spokesman.
A virtual hearing is scheduled for July 24 – 28 on the appeal and the case most likely will take the entire week, Ruhland said. Information can be found on the Allegheny County Health Department website.