Coal Companies Owned By Jim Justice (D To R WV Governor) Owe $140 Million In Fines, Debts

[hatrack]

Federal authorities sued West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s business empire on Wednesday, seeking $7.6 million in unpaid environmental fines and overdue fees. The move adds to Justice’s growing legal and debt problems and comes just a month into his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Justice Department lawyers filed the suit to collect fines assessed by the Interior Department against 13 companies for strip mining violations that “pose health and safety risks or threaten environmental harm” to neighboring communities.

For years, Justice has been dogged by allegations that his family businesses haven’t paid their business and regulatory debts. In 2020, an investigation by ProPublica and Mountain State Spotlight found that the total judgments and settlements owed by Justice family businesses had reached $140 million. The review found hundreds of lawsuits that dated back more than 30 years, with many filed by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies, alleging they hadn’t been paid.

This week’s lawsuit is the third time in the last two months that either federal agencies have pursued legal action against the Justice companies or a court has ruled against them over fines for environmental and worker safety violations. In April, a federal appeals court ruled that Justice companies must pay $2.5 million in fines assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency. In mid-May, the Labor Department sought a judge’s help in collecting millions of dollars in fines, alleging Justice companies are habitually late making payments related to violations that could have endangered the health and safety of coal miners.

The new suit cites more than 130 violations and more than 40 more serious enforcement orders issued between 2018 and 2022. The Justice companies previously argued that the government had reneged on a deal to resolve some of these violations for a $250,000 fine. But a federal judge threw out their case. In response to this week’s suit, Justice sought to divert attention from the substance of the case by implying that the White House was using regulatory agencies for political purposes. “Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and the Democrats have seen the polling that show me winning this U.S. Senate race. Now the Biden Administration has started their political games to beat me,” the governor said in a tweet. Justice, a hugely popular Republican, is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is often the swing vote on key legislation.

EDIT

https://www.propublica.org/article/jim-justice-coal-empire-sued-by-federal-government-again

[gab13by13]

1. I know back in the 60's

that coal companies used holding companies that didn't have much money in them. When the holding company couldn't pay fines it just dissolved and another holding company was formed.