McIntosh v. Department of Environmental Protection

Date of Application:	Thu, 18 Dec 2025
Decision Making Body:	Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board
Law Applied:	Pennsylvania Constitution
Keywords:	Constitutional rights, Public trust, Fossil fuel permitting, Administrative challenge
	Full Case Details - Download Full Judgment (pdf)

McIntosh v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, No. 2025136 (EHB filed 18 Dec. 2025)

At issue: Youth plaintiffs’ administrative appeal in Pennsylvania challenging the approval of a major gas-fired power plant permit, alleging that the decision violates their constitutional rights under the Environmental Rights Amendment and infringes their rights to life, health, and safety by contributing to climate change.

18 December 2025 – Youth Plaintiffs Filed Appeal Challenging Homer City Gas Plant Permit (McIntosh v. DEP).
Youth plaintiffs filed an appeal before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board challenging the Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of an air quality permit for the Homer City Redevelopment Project, a proposed gas-fired power plant. The plaintiffs allege that authorizing the project would result in significant greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating the climate crisis and violating their constitutional rights under Article I, Sections 1 and 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

2025 – Plaintiffs Assert Constitutional and Public Trust Violations in Permitting Context.
The appeal argues that approving the project breaches the Commonwealth’s duties under the Environmental Rights Amendment, which guarantees rights to clean air and a healthy environment and establishes the state as trustee of public natural resources for present and future generations. The plaintiffs contend that authorizing new fossil fuel infrastructure, despite available alternatives, unlawfully endangers youth and public trust resources.

2026 – Proceedings Ongoing Before Environmental Hearing Board.
The case remains pending. The youth plaintiffs seek to vacate the permit and require the Commonwealth to comply with its constitutional obligations to protect environmental rights and safeguard present and future generations.

Pennsylvania — Our Children's Trust

Court filed documents: 

Application

Related CRC articles

• 6. Right to life, survival and development (CRC Article 6)
• 24. Right to health, healthcare, and a healthy environment (CRC Article 24)

The youth appellants challenge the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of an air quality permit for a major gas-fired power plant (Homer City Redevelopment Project), alleging that the decision violates their constitutional rights and the Commonwealth’s trustee obligations by authorizing significant greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

The appellants assert that the Commonwealth, as trustee of public natural resources, has an affirmative duty under the Pennsylvania Constitution to conserve and maintain those resources for present and future generations, and that approving new fossil fuel infrastructure in the face of the climate crisis constitutes a breach of those duties.

They further argue that the permit approval infringes their fundamental rights under Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, including their rights to life, health, safety, and wellbeing, by exposing them to worsening climate impacts over the course of their lives.

The appellants frame the harm as ongoing and cumulative, emphasizing that authorizing a large-scale fossil fuel project will lock in substantial emissions and exacerbate climate-related injuries, including physical, psychological, and developmental harms that disproportionately affect children and youth.

The appeal contends that the Department cannot lawfully authorize activities that degrade public natural resources or endanger constitutional rights, and that the approval of the permit itself constitutes unconstitutional state action.

The appellants seek an order vacating the permit and requiring the Commonwealth to comply with its constitutional obligations, including its duty to prevent environmental degradation and protect the rights of present and future generations.

Application / Complaint:

63. "The Department's issuance of the Plan Approval violates Appellants' fundamental substantive due process rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happines under Article I, section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

64. "The Department's issuance of the Plan Approval violates Appellants' fundamental right to a stable climate system, which is protected under both the ERA and the substantive due process protections enshrined in Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution". 

Involvement of children in hearings

• Written presentation

The child plaintiffs’ personal experiences are set out in detail in the complaint.  

 

Future generations

Application / complaint: 

58. "The Commonwealth has a compelling interest in protecting the lives, health, and safety of Pennsylvania's youth and children and in preserving and protecting public trust resources for them and for future generations". 

62. "The Department's issuance of the Plan Approval violates Appellants' fundamental rights as beneficiaries under the inherent trust relationship recognized in the ERA, under which the government, including the Department, holds and manages public natural resources in trust for the benefit of all people, incluidng youth and future generations".

Outcome of decision for the applicants

• Decision pending

Involvement of NGO/law firm in application

Our Children's Trust

Gibbel Kraybill & Hess: Attorneys in Lancaster and Ardmore

Available information on how children got involved in the litigation

Pennsylvania — Our Children's Trust

Age range of litigants

• 0-7
• 8-12
• 13-17
• 18-25

Number of children or youth involved

13