WVDEP Sues Lexington Coal Co. For $8.6 Million


Sep 18, 2026

Charleston, W.Va.—The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has filed suit against Lexington Coal Company for over $8.6 million. Filed in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, W.Va. on August 7, 2026, the suit alleges that LCC owes $7,776,857.25 in delinquent civil penalties assessed for mine permit violations and another $823,570.00 in administrative and stipulated penalties for water pollution permit violations. This action comes after years of complaints and birddogging by community group Coal River Mountain Watch and others.

One exhibit to the suit is a 51-page list of delinquent violations. This includes the $3 million in delinquent fines that LCC had agreed to repay, with monthly payments to begin in June 2024. LCC made the initial down payment of nearly $300,000, but hadn’t made a payment since. In the meantime, Lexington amassed additional violations and more delinquent fines.

Lexington’s violations tend to go unabated for years. Several are from 2023. One of the permits has a repeat violation for failure to reclaim the site going back to 2021 and “abated” by repeat permit revisions granting another year to fix the actual problem.  

Community group Coal River Mountain Watch has submitted complaints to the WVDEP and the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement about WVDEP’s practice of improperly extending LCC’s violations and taking no effective enforcement action. CRMW, with Appalachian Voices and Sierra Club, submitted a complaint to OSMRE in 2023 that resulted in WVDEP granting fewer extensions and increasingly applying legally required fines. Further complaints, information requests, and intervention in hearings resulted in several cessation orders and permit suspensions. However, these actions had little effect since LCC was not extracting coal from the subject permits anyway, and LCC would not pay their fines. CRMW continually urged WVDEP to take elevated enforcement action in the form of revoking LCC chronic violator permits and recovering reclamation bond forfeitures.

This lawsuit represents a significant elevation in enforcement. However, the proceedings could stretch out for years, and WVDEP and LCC could agree to a weak settlement. In the meantime, LCC’s violations go unabated, barren land goes unreclaimed, pollution control structures fall further into disrepair, and LCC’s massive scars on the land continue to pollute and endanger communities.

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