BIRMINGHAM, AL (WOWK) — Bluestone Coke, a plant owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family in Birmingham, was held in civil contempt in a lawsuit alleging they polluted the nearby Five Mile Creek, according to federal court documents.
The original documents were filed on Sept. 13, 2023, from environmental groups: Black Warrior River-Keeper and the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP).
The groups allege Bluestone Coke, which the Associated Press reported heats coal to cook off impurities while not burning the coal , has “suffocate[d]” Five Mile Creek with black and brown coal sediments.
The new order, filed on Thursday, found Bluestone Coke, Donald Wiggs, and James “Jay” Justice III – the West Virginia governor’s son – in civil contempt “for failure to comply with this court’s… orders.”
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, the defendants have failed to give deposition dates despite three court orders. The documents also said the plaintiffs had sent emails asking for information and got no response.