Media Contact: Alex Downing, alex@centerforcoalfieldjustice.org, 412-229-7061
Despite failing to meet federal wastewater standards and pumping out the greenhouse gas equivalent of 600,000 cars every year, the Shapiro administration signed a new consent decree that delays the closure of two coal power plants in Indiana and Armstrong Counties until at least 2032 — pushing back a 2028 shutdown date that was already years in the making.
In 2021, Keystone-Conemaugh elected to shut the plants down rather than spend the money to adequately strip arsenic, mercury, and other heavy metals from its wastewater. Now, with AI data center proposals across the state — many backed by Governor Shapiro — driving electricity prices through the roof, the company has reversed course. While the deal gives the company a schedule for installing necessary wastewater management upgrades, it sets penalties as low as $150 per day for noncompliance — a drop in the bucket compared to the windfall profits Keystone-Conemaugh stands to make selling power to the Big Tech firms gouging the market.
“This decision puts the interests of data centers and fossil fuel companies ahead of the communities most affected by pollution,” said Sarah Martik, Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice. “Rising electricity demand is a real challenge, but the answer should be stronger consumer protections and developer accountability — not handshake deals that weaken environmental oversight in exchange for a short-term fix.”
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We fight for coalfield communities through advocacy, education, and organizing.