Editing Renovo, Pennsylvania (section)

== Renovo Energy Center ==
In early 2015, the Clinton County Economic Partnership announced that it would be working with Renovo Energy Center LLC. to plan out the construction of a new natural gas fired power plant on the site of the old Pennsylvania Rail Road shops across the tracks from Erie avenue. The project's original planned construction date was 2017 but has since been pushed back. The project is expected to bring over 500 construction workers to Renovo and offer around 30 full time jobs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Administrator|date=2015-04-06|title=Gas-Fired Power Plant Proposed for Renovo|url=http://therecord-online.com/site/archives/11658|access-date=2020-07-12|website=The Record Online|language=en-US}}</ref> In November 2020, Renovo Energy Center LLC. asked the Pennsylvania DEP to review and change their clean air license to "make its operations more efficient and the plant more attractive to investors". A Philadelphia-based activist group, the Clean Air Council, opposed the changes to the clean air license, posting their opposition on social media and mass mailing requests for public opposition to the plant.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Administrator|date=2020-11-17|title=Renovo Energy Center Project Advances; Environmental Group Mounts Challenge|url=http://therecord-online.com/site/archives/64372|access-date=2020-11-18|website=The Record Online|language=en-US}}</ref>

On April 29, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced the approval of the Renovo Energy Center project's air quality permit.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PADEP Approval Document|url=https://files.dep.state.pa.us/RegionalResources/NCRO/NCROPortalFiles/CommunityInformation/REC_Plan_Approval_Issuance_Memo.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Renovo Energy Center project OK'd by DEP|url=https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local-news/2021/05/renovo-energy-center-project-okd-by-dep/|access-date=2021-05-08|website=lockhaven.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-30|title=Renovo Energy project gets DEP plan approval|url=http://therecord-online.com/site/archives/68966|access-date=2021-05-08|website=The Record Online|language=en-US}}</ref> After the permit's approval, Renovo Energy Center LLC contracted Letterle & Associates of [[Bellefonte, Pennsylvania|Bellefonte, PA]] to conduct soil tests to assess the condition of the land.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-04|title=Renovo Energy Center Project: so it begins…|url=http://therecord-online.com/site/archives/69097|access-date=2021-05-08|website=The Record Online|language=en-US}}</ref>

In on May 27, 2021, three environmental groups, Clean Air Council, Penn Future, and the Center for Biological Diversity, filed an appeal for the air quality permit, saying, "''The permit allows the power plant to emit hundreds of tons of noxious pollutants annually and more greenhouse gases than the City of Pittsburgh. Despite DEP recognizing that Renovo is an [[environmental justice]] community, DEP failed to do the outreach required to community members before issuing the permit for one of the most-polluting facilities in Pennsylvania. The groups object to the permit on those grounds as well as the grounds that the permit allows unlawful levels of air pollution, that DEP ignored the costs to society in issuing the permit, and based on several other deficiencies spelled out in the Notice of Appeal. The groups said air pollution from the power plant would likely kill dozens of people over the course of the plant’s life and cost several billion dollars in impacts to health and communities. The power plant is being developed by Bechtel Corporation, a Virginia-based multinational engineering corporation. “Our members are deeply concerned about the very high levels of harmful air pollution from Bechtel’s enormous proposed power plant and the negative health effects it could have on our families and friends,” said Sue Cannon with Renovo Residents for a Healthy Environment. “This power plant is unwanted, unnecessary, and will provide no benefits to residents – only burdens."''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-01|title=Environmental groups appeal DEP approval for Renovo Energy Center project|url=https://therecord-online.com/site/archives/70016|access-date=2021-06-14|website=The Record Online|language=en-US}}</ref>

On August 29, 2022, the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board granted partial summary judgement. In this partial ruling, Chief EHB Judge Thomas W. Renwand had ruled that the DEP "''has provided no basis for selecting a higher [[volatile organic compound]] emissions limit for the Renovo Energy Center facility''" and ruled in favor of the appellants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EHB Aug. 9, 2022 Summary Judgement Docket |url=https://ehb.courtapps.com/efile/documentViewer.php?documentID=57225}}</ref> Following the ruling, REC project manager Rick Franzese stated, "The REC project remains viable so long as the appeal of the project’s air permit is favorably resolved."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Renovo Energy Center to comply with lower pollution limits |url=https://www.sungazette.com/news/top-news/2022/09/renovo-energy-center-to-comply-with-lower-pollution-limits/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=sungazette.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

On April 14, 2023, Bechtel backed out of the proposed energy plant.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Developer backs out of Renovo Energy Plant project |url=https://www.lockhaven.com/uncategorized/2023/04/developer-backs-out-of-renovo-energy-plant-project/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=lockhaven.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

[https://therecord-online.com/site/archives/94038 Maureen A. Ruhl] was the key player in the demise of the proposed billion-dollar natural gas-to-electricity power plant. Ruhl proclaimed she wasn't against the power plant itself, but the location which was anticipated to be less than a football field away from the residents' homes.