Water pollution from the closed Bluestone Coke Facility enters Five Mile Creek in Birmingham, Ala.A coal company owned by the family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice continues to rack up fines and legal troubles over pollution from its now-closed coking plant in Birmingham.
, the largest fine ever issued by the Jefferson County Board of Health, which regulates air pollution in Birmingham., filed by attorneys from the Southern Environmental Law Center representing the environmental groups, says Bluestone has “continually discharged unpermitted pollutants into Five Mile Creek and its tributary.”
“We gave Bluestone Coke 60 days to stop their illegal actions,” Sarah Stokes, Senior Attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a news release. The plant was purchased in 2019 by the Justice family but shut down in December 2021 after health officials determined the plant could not meet pollution limits without substantial improvements.