Updated Jan. 20, 2022: On Jan. 13, Virginia Energy sent a letter to A&G Coal Corporation suspending the permit for the Straight Fork Surface Mine after the corporation failed to respond to the Dec. 8, 2021 show cause order. The permit suspension gives the Justice company until Feb. 14 to deal with the ongoing violations. Failure to do so will then trigger permit revocation and a determination of bond forfeiture.
Satellite photos taken years apart reveal that little reclamation has taken place at several Virginia mines owned by the family of billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
Lower-than-expected income from fossil fuel severance taxes is putting the West Virginia state budget in a bind. Some advocate for raising the severance tax rate on natural gas.
Blackjewel and Revelation Energy’s July bankruptcy announcement is the latest in a long string of bankruptcies plaguing the coal industry. But this bankruptcy is different, and the troubles it brings could be a sign of more problems to come.
Republished from Ohio Valley ReSource: A legal loophole allows coal mines, like those owned by the Justice family, to sit idle for years instead of being reclaimed in a timely manner.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family and their companies are involved in new lawsuits with federal mine safety and reclamation authorities.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice made nearly $2 billion off Appalachia’s coalfields, but his family’s mines owe back taxes in multiple states. They have also accrued hundreds of environmental violations, and many idled mines are still unreclaimed.
Virginia businessman Tom Clarke’s foray into the coal industry initially looked promising for addressing environmental and community problems. Now, however, his business model is looking questionable.
Virginia and Kentucky regulators are seeking to hold West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice accountable for his companies’ failure to meet mine land reclamation deadlines.
Guest blogger Chad Cordell of the Kanawha Forest Coalition provides an update on a West Virginia bill that would allow commercial logging of high-value trees in WV state parks, and shares some easy ways to contact decision-makers in support of our parks. #SOSParks
