BIG STONE GAP, Va. (Legal Newsline) - A coal mining company owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family has reached a settlement with environment groups over the reclamation of its former sites.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Appalachian Voices and Sierra Club filed a complaint Jan. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia Big Stone Gap Division against A&G Coal Corporation alleging violations of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and other claims.
The case was simultaneously settled. A&G will complete reclamation work at three sites in Wise County by September 2023, March 2024 and January 2026.
Those deadlines are later than what is stipulated in an agreement with Virginia, "but compliance is now enforceable by a court order," a press release from the environmental groups says.
Financial penalties will follow failure to meet these deadlines, with A&G funding a reclamation escrow account with portions of revenue from any coal mined there, up to $600,000.
“It’s critically important that every coal mine be fully reclaimed by the operator in order to ensure that local communities are not burdened with ongoing negative environmental impacts,” said Judy Gayer, Conservation and Legal Chair for Sierra Club’s Virginia Chapter. “We’re pleased that today’s settlement will accelerate the reclamation of these three sites and benefit communities in Wise County.”
According to the plaintiffs' complaint, A&G owns and operates the Looney Ridge Surface Mine, Sawmill Hollow Mine and Canepatch Surface Mine located in Wise County. They claim that after more than nine years after cessation of mining operations at the Looney Ridge Surface Mine, reclamation work that includes backfilling, grading and revegetation has not been completed by A&G.
The plaintiffs allege that A&G has been issued various notice of violations and cessation orders by the Virginia Department of Energy and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement since 2013 and despite compliance agreements and amendments,
A&G has failed or made "minimal effort" to follow the reclamation requirements. The plaintiffs claim A&G's failure to reclaim the mines pose the risk of erosion, landslides and polluted runoff from the sites into local streams.