Blacklick Creek in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, has spent years coming back to life. A treatment facility for runoff from abandoned mines has helped restore roughly 25 miles of the stream, bringing back fish, anglers, and families who love being on the water.

Now that progress is at risk. The proposed Homer City Generation natural gas plant is seeking a permit change that would let it release up to 6.8 million gallons of wastewater into the creek every day. That water could be as hot as about 110 degrees and would contain biocides, chemicals made to kill or stop the growth of living things.

“Six million, eight hundred thousand gallons will kill fish and aquatic life,” Bob Sagely of the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited told state officials at a public hearing, according to TribLive. Every one of the roughly dozen speakers at that hearing opposed the plan.

Residents are asking for reasonable protections. They want the water cooled to within 10 degrees of the creek’s temperature before release. They want the plant to publicly disclose every chemical and cooling additive in its discharge. And they want clear monitoring so the daily limit is actually enforced. State officials said no Pennsylvania rule currently requires the cooling step, which makes strong permit conditions even more important.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is expected to decide on the permit before the end of this year. DEP should reject the amendment as written or require cooling, full chemical disclosure, and public monitoring as conditions of approval.

Sign the petition to protect Blacklick Creek before this permit decision is final.