WVDEP pushing back against possible federal intervention at Boone County mine

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is defending its oversight of a Boone County coal mine permit that federal regulators have been reviewing for months.

State officials are defending their handling of violations at the Twilight Surface Mine after a federal review was launched over environmental concerns. The state says it has taken enforcement action and argues the state, not federal regulators, has authority over the permit.

WVOW News

TWILIGHT State officials sent a letter on March 23rd to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in response to a federal probe involving the Twilight MTR Surface Mine operated by Lexington Coal Company on the Boone-Raleigh County line.

The federal review began after a complaint was filed in July 2025 by the environmental group Coal River Mountain Watch. Federal regulators later issued a ten-day notice in October warning the state agency that it could take over enforcement of the mining permit if violations were not addressed. The violations involve issues including sediment control and environmental remediation requirements in the Coal River watershed.

In its response, the state agency said several enforcement actions were taken in recent months, including multiple cessation orders issued late last year and earlier this year. Officials also said a show-cause proceeding reviewing whether the permit should be suspended or revoked ended in February after the company addressed several violations.

State officials also argued that federal regulators do not have authority to oversee state permitting decisions because West Virginia holds primary enforcement authority under federal mining law.

The mining permit covers about 1,160 acres and has been cited for roughly 80 environmental violations since 2021. The Twilight Surface Mine was also the site of an incident in January 2025 that claimed the life of 55-year-old Steven Fields of Chauncey. Since 2019, MSHA has logged more than 200 safety violations at the operation.

Federal officials say they are reviewing the state’s response and will decide whether additional action is necessary once the review is complete.

The dispute comes as records show Lexington Coal owes the state more than six million dollars in delinquent fines.

PHOTO | Coal River Mountain Watch - YouTube