Tag: Mine Reclamation

Judge Holds Lexington Coal In Contempt Over Mine Pollution

Chambers ordered Lexington Coal to pay a $50,000 fine and to establish a $100,000 fund for the purpose of complying with the court’s orders and set December deadlines for both.

“Defendant Lexington Coal’s disrespect for the environment and this Court’s orders has permeated every stage of this litigation.”

That’s what U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers wrote in a Thursday opinion holding the company in contempt for the third time since 2021 over pollution from mines in Mingo County.

He ordered Lexington Coal to pay a $50,000 fine and to establish a $100,000 fund for the purpose of complying with the court’s orders and set December deadlines for both.

In 2021, Chambers ruled that the company had violated the Clean Water Act and federal mine reclamation law and held it in contempt in 2022 and 2023 for its failure to make progress on fixing the problems.

Lexington Coal is owned by Jeremy Hoops, the son of Jeff Hoops, the former CEO of Blackjewel, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and left hundreds of miners unpaid. 

Groups Seek Contempt Order On Justice-Owned Coal Company

The Sierra Club, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Appalachian Voices say A&G Coal Company has violated an agreement to reclaim three coal mines in Southwest Virginia.

Environmental groups have asked a federal court to hold one of Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies in contempt.

The Sierra Club, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Appalachian Voices say A&G Coal Company has violated an agreement to reclaim three coal mines in southwest Virginia.

Further, the groups say Roanoke-based A&G has mined coal at two of the sites, in violation of a January 2023 consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

The reclamation deadlines have already passed for two of the sites and another looms for the third, totaling 3,300 acres in Wise County, Virginia near the Kentucky border.

A Virginia study earlier this year found A&G’s total reclamation liabilities at all of its mines total $190 million, far exceeding the $13 million available in the state’s bond pool.

Justice-owned coal companies face liabilities in numerous other jurisdictions.

State To Receive $140 Million From Interior For Abandoned Mines

The U.S. Department of the Interior is making $140 million in AML funds available to West Virginia, the most of any state but Pennsylvania.

West Virginia is eligible for a new round of Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is making $140 million in AML funds available to West Virginia, the most of any state but Pennsylvania.

A total of 22 states and the Navajo Nation will receive $725 million this fiscal year. In addition to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, are included.

The funds help clean up legacy mining sites, which can be a source of air and water pollution, a safety hazard and a threat to the climate. Abandoned mines release methane, which is a more powerful heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide.

Projects funded through AML can revive local economies, put displaced miners back to work and create lasting recreational opportunities.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 made a total of $11 billion to address the legacy pollution of abandoned mines and create employment opportunities in coal communities.

The program includes mines that were abandoned before 1977. 

Earlier this week, West Virginia received $28 million from the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program, which aims to stimulate economic development in coal communities.

Revitalization Of Communities Is EPA’s Focus In State, Ortiz Says

Adam Ortiz, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator for Region 3, says the EPA has invested half a billion dollars in West Virginia during the Biden presidency.

State and local environmental advocates welcomed a special guest to the Capitol Tuesday for E-Day.

Adam Ortiz, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator for Region 3, which includes West Virginia, came to the Capitol to speak to lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Ortiz says the EPA has invested half a billion dollars in West Virginia during the Biden presidency. That money has gone to improving water and wastewater systems and cleaning up abandoned coal mines and industrial sites.

“It’s not just cleaning up the stuff in the past but preparing this infrastructure for the future. So, it’s hard to attract a hotel to a community if you don’t have strong water systems, both drinking water and wastewater. So, we’re partnering with localities partnering with the state because we want to help West Virginia open its next chapter revitalization and you know, cleaning up the old stuff as part of that process.”

Ortiz says West Virginia has the infrastructure and the workforce to support its economic future. He says the EPA’s role is to help the state clean up the legacy pollution of its historical mining and industry.

“So our focus at EPA working with the state is on revitalization, taking a lot of these abandoned mine areas, as well as brownfields. And it wasn’t just coal production here, but also lots of chemicals and companies that are long gone. And often these sites, these properties are right in the middle of, you know, great old towns and cities, they’re connected to the water, they’re connected to the rail. So our job is to help the state clean them up and get them back online economically.”

Ortiz also praised the young people who came to the Capitol to speak out on environmental issues and share their ideas with lawmakers.

“So we’re really cheering on the young people, the universities and the schools for their environmental programs, because they’re going to have the baton before too long.”

Report: Justice Considers Sale Of Family Coal Business

Justice’s term as governor ends next year, and he’s been weighing a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.

Gov. Jim Justice may put his family’s coal business up for sale ahead of a potential U.S. Senate run, The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday.

Justice owns numerous companies that operate in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and other states. 

Justice’s term as governor ends next year, and he’s been weighing a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.

The WSJ article noted that the sale of the coal business would help Justice settle substantial debt.

Justice’s companies have paid millions of dollars in fines and penalties in multiple states, much of it related to unfinished mine reclamation.

In January, A&G Coal settled a lawsuit over three unreclaimed mine sites in southwest Virginia. As part of that settlement, A&G must complete reclamation work at the sites by 2025 and face higher fines if the new deadline is not met.

It also agreed to fund reclamation costs of up to $600,000 from coal mined at the three sites.

In December, Bluestone Coke agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit over air pollution from its coke plant in Birmingham, Alabama. 

The plant had been cited for years for hazardous pollutants from its coking ovens. The health department in Jefferson County, Alabama, went to court in 2021 alleging Bluestone violated its permit and the federal Clean Air Act.

In 2021, a Kentucky judge ordered Justice companies to pay a $3 million penalty, plus interest, for failing to complete reclamation work at three sites in eastern Kentucky. Justice and his son, Jay, were named as defendants in the case.

Justice’s coal business centers primarily on metallurgical coal, the kind that’s used to make steel.

An NPR investigation in 2016 found that Justice’s coal companies owed $15 million in taxes and safety penalties across six states, including nearly $7 million in Kentucky.

Justice was elected in 2016 as a Democrat, but later switched parties.

Justice spokesman Jordan Damron didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the sale.

Justice Coal Company Settles Mine Reclamation Suit In Virginia

A&G Coal, one of the Justice family’s numerous companies, settled with three environmental organizations.

A coal company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice has settled a lawsuit in Virginia.

A&G Coal, one of the Justice family’s numerous companies, settled with three environmental organizations. As part of the settlement, the company will complete reclamation work at three coal mines in southwest Virginia.

Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and the Sierra Club had sued A&G over stalled reclamation at 3,300 acres of mine lands.

A&G must complete reclamation at all three sites by 2025. A 2014 consent agreement with the state of Virginia resulted in limited reclamation.

Unlike the prior agreement, the settlement is enforceable by court order. A&G would owe higher fines if it fails to meet the new deadlines.

A&G will also fund reclamation costs of up to $600,000 from coal mined at the three sites.

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