Environmental regulators are suing a coal company owned by the family of West Virginia Republican Sen. Jim Justice, seeking to recover nearly $3 million in penalties owed for environmental violations.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Mining and Reclamation filed the lawsuit in state court this month against Bluestone Coal for allegedly violating West Virginia’s mining and water pollution laws.
West Virginia DEP is claiming it is owed a total of $2.9 million, with additional costs from the penalties likely to increase over the course of the litigation.
The state agency is also asking the court to require the coal company to immediately remediate the conditions that caused the noncompliance and issue an order barring the company from committing further violations.
