August 1, 2025
The Public Interest Movement that Defeated a Nuclear Power Plant: A Historian and Political Activist Share Stories of Cincinnati’s Troubled Zimmer Station
Have you heard the story of how Ohioan’s came together to thwart the completion of a dangerous nuclear power plant near Cincinnati, Ohio?
In 1969, multiple Ohio-based utility companies announced they were building the Zimmer nuclear power plant in Moscow, Ohio. By 1980, word spread about Zimmer’s dangerous working conditions and defective equipment. In 1981, Zimmer was fined $200,000 for its “widespread breakdown” in safety and quality assurance. Ultimately, Zimmer’s costs were 9 times larger than originally anticipated. Zimmer’s construction, in current dollars, cost around $10 billion. Ohio ratepayers’ foot part of the bill in increases on monthly utility bills.
The mismanagement of funding and the lack of governmental accountability sparked a diverse coalition of concerned citizens dedicated to prohibiting Zimmer’s operation. Pressure from the citizen-led anti-Zimmer movement contributed to the plant’s repurposing as a coal-burning plant in 1984.
The 2025 Ohio Environmental Law Conference is hosting Alyssa McClanahan, historian, and Brewster Rhodes, long-time environmental activist, to discuss the tumultuous history of Zimmer, and the importance of public interest law and activism. The Ohio Environmental Council invites you to learn about this piece of Ohio’s not-so-distant history, and how community activists like Rhodes contributed to this fight. If you are interested in learning about the role of public interest attorneys and campaigners, join us on September 26th, 2025, at the 2025 Ohio Environmental Law Conference.
