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U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers ordered Lexington Coal
Company LLC to follow a previous directive to address selenium
discharges and other pollution at the sites in Mingo County. The
judge also fined the company $50,000 and ordered it to set up a
$100,000 fund for use toward the costs of complying with federal
environmental laws.
Chambers previously found the company in contempt in 2022 and
2023.
In his ruling, Chambers said the company has paid $169,500 in
sanctions.
“Unfortunately, this significant sum of money has proven
insufficient to coerce Lexington Coal into compliance,” Chambers
wrote.
Environmental groups alleged in a 2019 lawsuit that the company
was discharging pollutants illegally at its Low Gap Surface Mine
No. 2 and No. 10 Mine.
James Kotcon, chairman of the Sierra Club’s West Virginia
chapter, said the discharges have ruined ecosystems.
“The law requires companies to abide by a simple principle: You
must clean up the mess you make," Kotcon said in a statement.
“Lexington Coal Company has made it clear that it has no respect
for our courts and our laws."
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