DOJ announces civil action against coal mines owned by West Virginia governor

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Wednesday filed a civil complaint against West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), a 2024 Senate candidate, and 13 coal companies he owns, alleging unpaid fines for earlier mining violations. The complaint claims Justice-owned firms committed more than 130 violations of federal mining law between 2018 and 2022 and ignored more than 50 warnings from the government to halt operations until they had been resolved. The alleged violations also accrued $7.6 million in unpaid fees and interest, according to the filing. “Our environmental laws serve to...