By Ken Ward, Jr.

May 26, 2017 - One of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s family coal operations is appealing a $10,000 fine issued by state inspectors after the death of a worker at a McDowell County coal preparation plant, records show.

Justice Low Seam Mining filed a notice that it was appealing the “special assessment” and a notice of violation issued by the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training following the February death of Jason Kenneth Matthews, 43, of Bluefield, Virginia, at the company’s JC “Jim” Justice II Prep Plant, named for the governor.

Billy R. Shelton, a Lexington lawyer representing the company, said in the appeal notice that the fine and the underlying citation “are arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law and fact.”

A hearing before the state Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals has not yet been scheduled.

Matthews was killed when he fell onto a conveyor belt and then into a coal-waste bin after climbing a ladder to repair a plate filter press used to dewater coal waste inside the preparation plant, according to the state office’s report on the death.

State inspectors issued the “special assessed notice of violation” that said the mine operator had failed to ensure compliance with a rule that repairs and maintenance not be performed on equipment until the power is off and the equipment is blocked against motion. The report said that, in this instance, the power was on to the filter press and the conveyor belt was in operation at the time of the fatality.

Normally, state mine safety violations carry a maximum penalty of $5,000. In cases involving miner deaths, imminent danger or a high degree of negligence, the state can levy a special assessment of up to $10,000.

During a state Board of Coal Mine Health and safety meeting in April, the top safety official from the Justice family coal operations offered a different explanation of how the preparation plant death occurred.

“What he failed to do was use fall protection,” said Patrick Graham, vice president for health and safety for the company. “Matthews should have had his [safety harness] and he was trained to do that.

“The real question is what goes through a person’s mind in human behavior when he’s working by himself and nobody’s watching,” Graham said. “It’s like a coal miner mentality, you know. ‘I can do this and maybe I don’t need to do a particular safety precaution.’ When we can cure that kind of problem, it wouldn’t happen here. He had been wearing his harness before. He had been trained to wear it. It’s not like the employees weren’t trained.”

At the time of the incident, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration listed Jim Justice as the controller of the preparation plant. As of March 7, MSHA has the controllers listed as Jill Justice, the governor’s daughter, and Jay Justice, the governor’s son. Jim Justice and his office have said the governor was handing over day-to-day control of his coal holdings to his son, and his hospitality businesses, including The Greenbrier resort, to his daughter.

After the preparation plant death, the governor issued a statement that said, “Tragic accidents like this just break all of our hearts and our state is grateful to have a close-knit mining community that steps up on these most difficult days.”