OTTAWA COUNTY, Ohio — House Bill 6 was signed into law Tuesday and although controversial, one community in northwest Ohio sees the bill as a lifesaver.
Officials in Ottawa County said the region came very close to a devastating economic impact this week with First Energy beginning the long process of making their two nuclear power plants inoperative, which would include the Davis-Besse plant located near their community.
Ottawa County Commissioner Mark Stahl said even though many outside of the region sees the bill as a bailout for the energy provider, the new law is a lifeline for the county since jobs along with property and income taxes would be lost if the plant were to close.
"We've received a notification yesterday that they have discontinued the decommission process, and that they are fully engaged into refueling in the Spring of next year. So, we're grateful to hear that," Stahl said.
Additionally, the bill is good news for the Benton-Carroll-Salem School District, which has already lost millions in funding after the nuclear power plant was devalued last year.
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Leaders said that if the district had lost both income and property tax, they might never have recovered.
"(I'm) Extremely overjoyed to know that that bill passed and that those jobs were going to remain in this community," B-C-S superintendent Guy Parmigian said. "It's a huge win for our state and for our region, not just with the jobs but keeping that power being generated right here at home so that we don't have to import power from out of state."
First Energy is expected to start getting subsidy funding in 2021.