This story was first reported by WV Public Broadcasting.
A federal court has given coal companies owned by U.S. Sen. Jim Justice (R–W.Va.) until May 1 to pay fines they owe or face contempt.
Numerous Justice-owned coal companies owe a total of more than $400,000 in delinquent mine safety penalties.
In an agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia last month, the companies agreed to pay $125,000 by Feb. 27 and the remaining balance due by May 1.
Under the court agreement, if Tams Management and Frontier Coal fail to pay the amount owed by May 1, they will be held in contempt and fined $1,000 a day by Senior Judge Michael Urbanski.
The companies may be subject to additional sanctions, including a debt collection surcharge, civil fines, civil confinement of officers — or jail time — and receivership.
Among his other legal entanglements in the Western District of Virginia, Justice was issued a garnishment summons in January for $3.3 million he owes a Chicago insurance company.
The court ordered Justice to pay the debt, cite an exemption or appear in court in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on March 28.
Tams Management, Frontier Coal and Bluestone Coal had originally agreed to pay more than $5 million in Mine Safety and Health Administration civil penalties by March 1, 2024, but they missed that deadline.
The $400,000 is what they still owe MSHA.
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