Mandel: Would Fight Regulations Blamed for Power Plant Closing

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, currently campaigning for the U.S. Senate, making a stop in Avon Lake Sept. 8, said if elected to the Senate, he would fight the regulation that is deemed one of the reasons .

Mandel made the stop as part of the Republican “Buckeye Blitz” that will see Republican volunteers go door-to-door across Ohio urging support for Republican candidates. He spoke to a group of volunteers at the Republican Victory Center in Learwood Plaza after being introduced by Avon Lake Councilman Dan Bucci.

In a one-on-one interview with Avon-Avon Lake Patch, Mandel took a shot at Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and the EPA MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rule, a new policy to regulate mercury and air toxins from power plants. 

This year, Brown voted to uphold the MACT rule.

“The utility MACT which is one of the regulations at fault for why this plant is on the chopping block, is one of the main areas where Sherrod Brown and I disagree,” Mandel said. “Sherrod Brown voted to support the federal regulation that may very well put those middle class families out of work at the plant. I strongly opposed those regulations."

Mandel said he would support eliminating the regulation that is partially to blame for the expected closing of the Avon Lake power plant in 2015.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for the plant said the closing was pending “because of forecasted returns on investments necessary to comply with environmental regulations are insufficient.”

“A priority of mine would be to eliminate the regulations so we could save the jobs here in Lorain County,” Mandel said. “With Sherrod Brown being a resident of Lorain County, he should be ashamed of himself for siding with the Washington bureaucrats over jobs in this part of the state.”

Patch readers which could cost the city and school district more than $200,000 in lost tax revenue per year.