"WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced a lawsuit Wednesday against West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal empire, seeking more than $5 million in unpaid civil penalties and fees.
Though Justice, a Republican, is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, his adult son who runs the family’s coal operations, James Justice III, and more than a dozen companies the family owns or operates are listed as defendants.
The companies, according to the Justice Department, repeatedly violated federal laws that oversee coal mine operations and failed to pay “uncontested” fines for those violations. The companies also ignored more than 50 orders to stop mining after violations were found to pose “health and safety risks” to workers or that threatened “environmental harm,” prosecutors say."
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