Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly today called on the U.S. Department of Energy to issue a conditional loan guarantee to USEC Inc. to move the American Centrifuge Plant forward.

The Ohio House of Representatives and the Senate passed concurrent resolutions urging President Barack Obama to direct the DOE to grant the loan to ensure the continuation of the uranium enrichment project in Piketon.

“I have seen firsthand how ready the project is for commercial operations,” Kasich said in a statement of support for the resolutions. “It is time for the Obama Administration to issue a conditional loan guarantee commitment

so the project can move

forward.”

USEC said at the end of April it must have the conditional loan guarantee “commitment” by June 30 or risk losing a $200 million strategic investment in the ACP by Toshiba and Babcock & Wilcox.

The second phase of that investment, valued at

$50 million, must be closed by then, USEC said, otherwise the two companies will have the individual option to end their involvement in the project.

“The plant will have

significant energy, national security, and environmental benefits for the United States, and will bring much-needed economic development to a part of Ohio desperate for jobs,” the governor continued in his statement, adding that USEC has already invested more than $2 billion into the project over the last decade.

“USEC has more than demonstrated its commitment to this project and the Piketon community — now it’s time for our leaders in Washington to do the same,” Sen. David Daniels, R-Greenfield, who sponsored the resolution in the Senate, said in a prepared statement.

Rep. Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, who sponsored the resolution in the House, said the uranium enrichment plant would create more than 2,000 construction jobs and add about 500 permanent operational and technical jobs.

“It is within the power of our president to make this loan guarantee happen,” said Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott. “He promised, and now it is time to deliver.”

Rep. John Carey, R-Wellston, said the ACP becoming a reality “could be a game-changer for our area’s economy.”

G. SAM PIATT can be reached at

(740) 353-3101, ext. 236, or spiatt@

heartlandpublications.com.