DOJ sues coal companies owned by son of top Republican Manchin challenger
Fox News
The DOJ is suing 13 coal companies owned and operated by the son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who is looking to challenge Sen. Joe Manchin in 2024.
"Over a five-year period, defendants engaged in over 130 violations of federal law, thereby posing health and safety risks to the public and the environment," U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia said in a statement Wednesday. "After given notice, they then failed to remedy those violations and were ordered over 50 times to cease mining activities until their violations were abated. Today, the filing of this complaint continues the process of holding defendants accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of the public and our environment." Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
The complaint names as defendants the younger Justice and 13 local companies: A&G Coal Corp., Bluestone Coal Corp., Bluestone Oil Corp., Chestnut Land Holdings, LLC, Dynamic Energy, Inc., Frontier Coal Co., Justice Energy Co., Kentucky Fuel Corp., National Coal, LLC., Pay Car Mining, Inc., Premium Coal Company, Inc., S and H Mining, Inc., and Tams Management, Inc., as defendants. The DOJ seeks payment of civil penalties and reclamation fee debt amounting to approximately $7.6 million.
Gov. Justice, a Republican, is looking to unseat Manchin from the Senate in 2024. The DOJ litigation was announced a day after Newsweek reported that Manchin was trailing 22 points behind Justice in a new poll, a concerning signal to Democrats looking to hold onto the Senate majority during next year’s elections.
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