Conservationists sue Aurevo Resources for numerous mining violations in the Cherry River watershed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2026

CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (276) 289-1018, [email protected]
Jordan Howes, Communications Specialist, (304) 282-8448, [email protected]  

Today, a coalition of conservation groups sued Aurevo Resources and its officers for more than 50 violations of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act dealing with failures to reclaim the seven surface mines in Greenbrier and Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Aurevo’s mining complex releases pollutants including sediment and metals into the South Fork of the Cherry River. 

The mines were formerly operated by South Fork Coal Company, which went bankrupt and idled its operations in 2025. In May, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection granted Aurevo “advanced approval” to take over the operations, making the company responsible for correcting the dozens of violations left over by South Fork Coal.

West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, represented by attorneys with Appalachian Mountain Advocates, brought the lawsuit.

Aurevo Resources Inc. and its sister company Clearco Processing, which assumed the remainder of South Fork Coal’s former operations, are new companies incorporated late last year by James Woods Jr. 

Woods pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 2021, admitting to having leased a dozer on behalf of a company he did not own and having it delivered to a job site. Aurevo and Clearco are owned by Bernard Brown, who is also listed as the entities’ vice president in a federal regulatory database. No president or other officers are listed for the companies in that database, and regulatory files state they have no employees.

The Clearco/Aurevo mining complex covers about 3,600 acres in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Cherry River, including a haul road operation that illegally crosses the Monongahela National Forest and utilizes Forest Service Road 249. 

“The South Fork of the Cherry River still has a chance to recover, and we want to see that happen,” said Olivia Miller, Interim Executive Director of West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. “A change in ownership doesn’t change the responsibility to clean up these mines and protect the river. DEP needs to hold the new operator accountable, and we’re bringing this lawsuit to make sure the work gets done. Our goal is a healthier watershed for the people and wildlife that depend on it.”

“Rocky Run used to regularly produce 12-inch brook trout,” said Micah Bates, an Appalachian Voices member from neighboring Fayette County who regularly fishes in the Cherry River watershed. “Since the mining started, it’s changed entirely. The trout are smaller and fewer in number. The tributaries and the South Fork of Cherry are more frequently muddy. It’s sad. Aurevo needs to do a lot better than South Fork Coal Company ever did if this watershed is going to recover.”

“Mining continues to have significant impacts to the environment in West Virginia, in particular our water and forests,” said Bill Price, Chair of the West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club. “One of our most valuable resources deserves protection instead of destruction.”

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