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May 31 (UPI) -- The Justice Department is filing a lawsuit against 13 coal companies owned by the son of West Virginia's governor, as it seeks to collect unpaid penalties and fees. The companies are all owned or operated by James C. Justice III, having previously been fined by the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, according to court documents released Wednesday.
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Some also owe outstanding Abandoned Mine Land reclamation fees and audit debts.
Justice III is the son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who has held the office since 2017.
Justice in April declared his intention to seek the West Virginia Senate currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin. Manchin, seen as the most conservative Democrat, hasn't said if he intends to run again.
Justice previously was a Democrat from 2015 to 2017.
His son is accused of failing to pay millions in penalties from the coal companies he controls, leaving coal mining sites abandoned or "left in an inadequate reclamation status," according to Justice Department filings.
"Over a five-year period, defendants engaged in over 130 violations of federal law, thereby posing health and safety risks to the public and the environment," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh said in a statement.
"After given notice, they then failed to remedy those violations and were ordered over 50 times to cease mining activities until their violations were abated. Today, the filing of this complaint continues the process of holding defendants accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of the public and our environment."
The Justice Department is seeking $7.6 million from Justice III, which includes fines, administrative expenses and interest.
"Our environmental laws serve to protect communities against adverse effects of industrial activities including surface coal mining operations," Assistant Attorney General with the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division Todd Kim said in a statement.
"Through this suit, the Justice Department seeks to deliver accountability for defendants' repeated violations of the law and to recover the penalties they owe as a result of those violations."
