WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA — The Trump Administration ordered the termination of a federal criminal investigation into Southern Coal, a company owned by U.S. Senator Jim Justice, a Republican from West Virginia. The Office of the Deputy Attorney General halted the probe, which had examined potential criminal violations of the Clean Water Act at mining operations controlled by the Justice family.
The criminal investigation was conducted jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia. Robert Tracci, the senior department official in the Western District of Virginia, initially authorized prosecutors to proceed. Todd Blanche, who led the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, directed prosecutors to suspend cases related to diesel emissions violations at the beginning of the year. Blanche assumed the role of acting attorney general in April. Senior career environmental lawyers at the department were reassigned to immigration enforcement duties shortly after the presidential inauguration.
Southern Coal and affiliated Justice family companies have received tens of thousands of alleged Clean Water Act violations over the past decade. State and federal prosecutors have filed multiple lawsuits against Southern Coal and related Justice entities over alleged environmental law violations. Jay Justice primarily manages the Justice family mining operations. In 2024, an Alabama judge issued a civil contempt order against Jay Justice for failing to respond to lawsuits after he failed to attend court hearings regarding Clean Water Act violations. Justice family companies have settled environmental violation allegations by agreeing to pay fines and fund pollution controls without admitting liability.
Emily Covington, a department spokeswoman, said, "There is no case to be made here for a criminal investigation." Covington added, "The bottom line is that this was a politically motivated prosecution for a case that can and should be resolved civilly." She stated, "Any career prosecutor who would paint a criminal case as strong is simply a deep state prosecutor continuing to push the priorities of the Biden administration."
Steven Ruby, an attorney for the Justice companies, said, "Ultimately the finding of the inquiry by the government was that there wasn’t any evidence to pursue criminal charges." He added, "There’s never been any intentional wrongdoing by the companies." Ruby said, "The Justice companies — because Sen. Justice has been governor and because he’s now a senator — are singled out and put under a microscope, and there’s news coverage of violations and consent decrees and compliance actions." He noted, "But the fact of the matter is that those kinds of issues exist throughout the industry."
Rick Mountcastle, a former federal prosecutor, said, "They were told ‘pencils down.’" Mountcastle said, "I’ve never heard of that happening before." He added, "There shouldn’t be some sort of untouchables list of people who are immune from enforcement." The department pursues approximately twelve criminal Clean Water Act cases annually.