CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking $3.2 million in penalties from Appalachian coal mines owned by West Virginia Gov.
Jim Justice over claims they violated a settlement meant to prevent pollution. Attorneys with the Justice Department filed a motion in U.S.
District Court in Virginia on Thursday asking a judge to order the Republican governor's companies to pay the fine and complete remediation work at mine sites.
The U.S. and several states settled and signed a consent decree with the companies in late 2016 to resolve allegations of Clean Water Act violations from Justice-owned mines in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.