Obama Didn't Build OhioEnergy's Coal Mine, but Company Says His Regulations Have Torn it Down

President Obama will campaign in Ohio tomorrow, but he will be greeted by newly unemployed workers in the swing state. Today, OhioAmerica Energy announced that it is shutting down operations at its operations near Brilliant, OH. The company pulls no punches, blaming the Obama administration’s regulatory policies for forcing the plant’s closure.

The company press release states that “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. ‘Electric prices in the recent PJM Interconnection monthly auction were bid up 800 percent (8 times) for 2015-2016 because of this,’ he added.”

The press release adds up the jobs that the Obama regulations have destroyed at the Brilliant mining operation: “‘At its peak, OhioAmerican employed 239 local people in high-paying, well-benefited jobs,’ said Mr. Stanley T. Piasecki, General Manager and Superintendent. ‘University studies show that our Mines can create up to eleven (11) secondary jobs in our communities, for store clerks, teachers, etc., to serve our direct employees. Thus, if one uses the eleven (11) to one (1) multiplier, the Obama Administration has destroyed 2,868 jobs in eastern Ohio with this forced Mine closure,’ stated Mr. Piasecki.”

OhioAmerica’s founder, Robert E. Murray, was so distraught by the closure that he went to the mine and personally announced the layoffs to each employee, according to the press release.

“‘Mr. Murray created OhioAmerican, and our production began in May, 2007,'” said Mr. Piasecki. ‘The Mine was intended to last for at least ten (10) years. Now we have been forced by our own Country’s President and his followers and supporters to permanently close the operation,’ added Mr. Piasecki.”

The company release concludes on an ominous note: “‘There will be additional layoffs, not only at Murray Energy, but also throughout the United States coal industry due to Mr. Obama’s ‘War on Coal’ and the destruction that it has caused to so many jobs and families in the Ohio Valley area and elsewhere,’ said Mr. Murray. ‘Both Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden stated that there would be ‘no coal in America’ prior to their elections,’ said Mr. Piasecki. ‘They are making good on their intentions while they destroy so many lives and family livelihoods in this area for no benefit whatsoever.'”

President Obama promised to use “skyrocketing” energy prices to destroy the coal industry during his campaign for the presidency. One of his EPA administrations lamented that the agency could not simply tell coal producing communities to “go away.”