After years of liberal Democrat Sherrod Brown voting to protect the EPA’s job-killing regulations, yesterday OhioAmerican Energy announced that they are shutting down.

OhioAmerican Energy specifically notes that the only reason they’re closing their operation – which will eliminate 239 jobs – is because of President Obama and Sherrod Brown’s job-killing regulations.

As OhioAmerican Energy’s Press Release Reads:

“OhioAmerican Energy, Inc. (“OhioAmerican”), a Subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation (“Murray Energy”), today announced the closure of its coal mining operations near Brilliant, Jefferson County, Ohio.  Regulatory actions by President Barack Obama and his appointees and followers were cited as the entire reason. “Mr. Obama has already destroyed 83,000 megawatts of coal-fired electricity generation in America,” said Mr. Michael T. W. Carey, Vice President of Government Affairs for Murray Energy.”  (OhioAmerican Energy, Inc. Coal Mining  Operation Closed In Eastern Ohio, Press Release, 7/31/12)

Notably, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association released a report that found President Obama and Senator Brown’s war on coal could kill 53,000 jobs in the Buckeye State.  Additionally, given that coal accounts for 86 percent of Ohio’s energy, it’s no wonder the study also found that these regulations will cause energy rates to increase by 13 percent in the Buckeye State.

“The consequence of Sherrod Brown siding with extreme environmentalists instead of hard-working families in Ohio is simple: 239 hardworking Ohioans have lost their jobs,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “If Sherrod Brown and Barack Obama continue their war on coal, soon 53,000 Ohioans will be out of a job and energy rates will increase by 13 percent.”   

BACKGROUND …

Brown Supports The EPA’s Job-Killing Cap-And-Trade Mandate

Brown Voted Against An Amendment Which Would Have Blocked The EPA From Regulating Carbon Dioxide And Other Greenhouse Gasses. “McConnell, R-Ky., amendment no. 183 that would block the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.” (S. 493, CQ Vote #54: Rejected 50-50: R 46-1; D 4-47; I 0-2, 4/6/11, Brown Voted Nay)

• Knowing Full Well That Obama’s EPA Regulations Could Be “Burdensome” And Could Harm Economic Growth. “A key Midwestern Senate Democrat on Monday called on the Obama administration to reconsider its approach to greenhouse gas regulation, as EPA critics weigh their legislative options for blocking the new rules. Ohio’s Sherrod Brown called the new permitting requirements for large emitters ‘burdensome’ and said they could harm economic growth, echoing the concerns of industry and GOP lawmakers.” (Geof Koss, “Ohio’s Brown Is Latest Senate Democrat To Criticize EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules,” Congressional Quarterly, 2/28/11)

Which Will Kill 53,000 Ohio Jobs

New EPA Rules Threaten 50 Ohio Jobs At Dayton Power & Light Plant. “Facing the prospect of having to shut down a coal-burning power plant that employs 50, Dayton Power & Light said it’s studying a plan to repower the O.H. Hutchings Station plant here with natural gas as a way to keep the facility along the Great Miami River operating.” (Steve Bennish, “EPA Rules To Force Old Coal Plants To Adapt, Close,” Dayton Daily News, 1/6/12)

• Dayton Power & Light Plant Is The Latest Among Ohio Coal Plants To Be Threatened By The Obama Administration. “Large Ohio coal plants will go dark within a few years. Duke Energy announced that the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station in Clermont County east of Cincinnati will cease operating coal-fired units in 2015. … Other Ohio utilities have announced coal-burning power plants headed for closure, including American Electric Power in Columbus. AEP said it would close two West Virginia plants and one Ohio plant, Picway. Two other Ohio plants, Conesville and Muskingum River, would close generating units.” (Steve Bennish, “EPA Rules To Force Old Coal Plants To Adapt, Close,” Dayton Daily News, 1/6/12)

The EPA’s Regulation Will Shut Down The Muskingum River Coal-Fired Power Plant.  The Muskingum River coal-fired power plant in Ohio is nearing the end of its life.  AEP, one of the country’s biggest coal-based utilities, says it will cut 159 jobs when it shuts the decades-old plant in three years — sooner than it would like — because of new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency. (Jia Lynn Yang, Do regulations cost jobs?, Washington Post, 11/15/11)

And Increase Energy Rates On Families In Ohio By 13 Percent

OHIO MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION:  National Economic Research Associates, a firm that evaluates economic impacts for government agencies, associations and businesses, in a preliminary analysis for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity projects that Utility MACT and CSAPR will result in 1.4 million lost jobs nationally over the next nine years, including 53,500 jobs in Ohio. And that’s net job losses, because the research takes into account jobs created by the two new rules as well those that will be lost.  Additionally, according to NERA, utilities’ compliance costs for the two regulations would total $17 billion annually and electricity costs in Ohio would increase by about 13 percent. (Kevin Schmidt, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, Columbus Dispatch, 10/20/11)