The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
A “super-polluter” coal plant along the Ohio River is losing money and faces a hefty environmental liability, according to a recent report. Since it’s owned by a politically connected private equity fund, an obvious question arises: Will taxpayers be left holding the bag?
The fund and its CEO are prominent supporters of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, who are themselves outspoken supporters of coal. A Vance spokesman didn’t respond when asked last week whether he would work to ensure that the plant’s owners pay to clean up their own mess should they close the plant.
Ohioans have experience propping up unprofitable, polluting plants. As a consequence of the largest bribery scandal in state history , they’ve so far paid $343,000,000 to subsidize two aging coal plants — including one that’s not even in Ohio.