FreshWater Appeals to Ohio Attorney General to Investigate Funding|FreshWater Accountability Project

Copied below is the appeal to Ohio Attorney General Yost to investigate JobsOhio funding decisions. Copies of the request for investigation were also sent to Governor DeWine and the Ohio Auditor’s Office. So far, we have not heard anything back, but we will continue to monitor the amount of funding given through JobsOhio to turn the Ohio River Valley into a petrochemical hub for outside interests, leaving us with the pollution so the product (plastics) can be sent overseas. We don’t need more pollution for the Ohio River, which is already compromised as a drinking water source for five million people. And we certainly do not need more plastic. What is the State of Ohio thinking? And why is JobsOhio focusing on subsidizing foreign interests and the boom/bust industry of fracking? The specific requests outlined in the letter sent are:

1) Funding given to a single industry (fracking) which is financially unstable and could cause economic distress itself in Ohio when the boom becomes a bust: http://ieefa.org/sightline-ieefa-update-u-s-fracking-sector-bleeds-red-ink-in-q1/

2) Funding given to a single source – the Thailand-based PTT Global facility that does not even have a final investment decision made to build in Belmont County.

3) Investigations into potential conflicts of interest within the JobsOhio Board and Staff (former and current) related to fracking and the petrochemical buildout.

4) The additional $65 million funding for the PTT Global project cited here: https://wvpress.org/wvpa-sharing/ohio-investing-100-million-on-site-preparation-for-possible-10-billion-cracker-plant-across-ohio-river-from-moundsville-w-va/. This article says Ohio has invested $100 million – where is all this funding coming from, and how much has been spent by JobsOhio compared to PTT Global (“The companies have committed $65 million for the site work through JobsOhio for a total investment of $95 million.”)?

5) How and why was JobsOhio created to have greater funding with lesser transparency and why it promoted and focused upon fracking and its infrastructure from the outset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jui3jM98ZT8. We believe JobsOhio was created by Governor Kasich primarily for the fracking industry in Ohio, and we would like this investigated to prove us wrong. How much money has been given other industries in Ohio unrelated to fracking (such as the growing, profitable renewable energy industries) vs. given to fracking and its associated industries and infrastructure by JobsOhio?