DEP tells feds to back off enforcement oversight of troubled Lexington, Justice mines

DEP tells feds to back off enforcement oversight of troubled Lexington, Justice mines

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is telling the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to back off in its oversight of mine permits with long histories of environmental violations charged to and delinquent fines unpaid by operators under two of the region’s most prominent mine owners: Lexington Coal Company LLC and the U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va. family-controlled Second Sterling Corp. It’s a fami…