Posted on 06/03/2023 5:36:25 AM PDT by Twotone
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the son of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice as well as his son’s coal companies, coming just weeks after Justice announced a run for Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat in 2024.
The DOJ sued 13 coal companies that are owned or operated by Jim Justice III, alleging the operations violated their legal obligations under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and "have failed to pay uncontested penalties assessed for their uncontested violations."
The department said that the companies have been cited for over 130 violations, "and have failed to pay over $5 million in civil penalties assessed by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE]."
Additionally, the department stated that the companies owe over $190,000 in Abandoned Mine Land reclamation fee debts.
On behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, the DOJ seeks to recover "$4,376,328 in uncontested corporate civil penalties, $1,419,959 in uncontested individual civil penalties, and $190,759.97 in uncontested AML reclamation fee and audit debts, in addition to unpaid pre-judgment interest, late payment penalties, and administrative expenses collectively owed by Defendants, and to hold Defendants accountable for their violations."
The lawsuit states that between 2018 and 2022 the OSMRE cited Premium Coal, National Coal, and S+H Mining with more than 100 violations, and issued over 50 cessation orders.
These violations include "failure to maintain the face of a dam, its diversion ditches, and emergency spillway," "failure to ensure the seismic stability of a dam," "failure to pass surface drainage through an approved siltation structure before leaving the permit area," and "failure to maintain diversion ditches leading to uncontrolled drainage," among others.
In regard to various notices given to these coal companies, the lawsuit states that "Defendant Justice failed to enter an abatement agreement or timely administratively contest" the violations.
The department’s lawsuit requests that Justice and the companies pay the outstanding penalties and fees within 30 days of judgment, adding that a 10 percent surcharge be added.
According to Axios, Justice III took control of the companies after his father assumed office in 2017.
"Through this suit, the Justice Department seeks to deliver accountability for defendants’ repeated violations of the law and to recover the penalties they owe as a result of those violations," said Todd Kim, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Given the proven thuggery of the DOJ, the immediate reaction to this is that it’s just another politically motivated action. Sad that one has to draw that immediate conclusion until proven otherwise....
Lawsuits like this one take months to prepare, so seeing this as retaliation might be overthinking it.
The corruption from the DOJ just drips everywhere.
Why did trump allow this in the first place. Began in 2018.
They’ve known for a while that Justice will be running for senate
“West Virginia Gov Jim Justice’s family sued by Biden DOJ after he announces run for Manchin’s Senate seat”
It’s not the DOJ now, it’s DOI as in Department of Injustice
This is VA Gov Bob McDonnell 2.0. They fear Republican strong likeable smart conservatives
It has been the Department of ‘Just Us’ since , at least , the Clintons.
They’re never gonna stop with the lawfare.
Justice and his family business unfortunately is a target rich environment. They are known for unethical business practices. Such as not paying subcontractors; forcing them to sue to get paid to mine safety violations where rather than fix them fight it out in court.
This is well known in the state. Because of it I was shocked he got elected the first time. He was elected in 2016 because:
a) He & his family saved the Greenbriar Resort,
b) He’s a billionaire (One of two in the state!),
c) He ran as a Rat in 2016 prior to running he had been GOP. Switched back after Trump won. (It was trending GOP anyway!)
He’s actually been a good governor. I attribute half of that to the super-majority GOP legislature. My main gripe with his governing was his overly cautious COVID actions.
Not all Rat legal actions are lawfare where its made up. If your past actions create opportunities for the Rats to use against you. They will be used!
Justice was a democrat just recently. You think he didn’t know that all along? No core values. Still he’s more likely to beat Mancin than the other guy. Give him the seat for one term. He’ll then be 79 at the end.
Probably part of the deal Manchin made.
I wouldn’t call Jim Justice a strong likeable smart conservative.
I would call him a huge improvement over Joe Manchin.
Prior to him declaring his candidacy & running in 2016 he was a Republican. From Wikipedia
“....
In 2015, Justice announced his candidacy for governor in the 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election. Although a registered Republican before running for governor, he ran as a Democrat and defeated the Republican nominee, Bill Cole. Less than seven months after taking office, Justice switched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with U.S. president Donald Trump in the state. In the 2020 gubernatorial race, he was reelected over Democratic challenger Ben Salango.
...”
They look at who is most likely to run and win. They have things prepositioned to go after those people.
Yes. It is.
See Ted Stevens.
The most blatantly political DOJ this country has had in its history.
This one is likely not! What happened to Ted Stevens is not relevant in this case.
I now back living in WV; my family goes back to Revolutionary War days here. Also, I have family in the mining engineering services business. (They’re all retired now!) I’ve heard all the stories about Justice mines & business practices almost all my life. They are not made up!
When you have serious skeletons in your closet and you’re running against Rats. They will be let out to dance.
I am voting for Mooney in the primary but I expect Justice to win. Then it will come down to the usual WV choice in a general election - a crook or a crazy. I always reluctantly vote crook, so do many others. So, I will be voting for the crook - Justice in the general. I expect him to win.
Typo
I now back = I am now back
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