Arch Coal's Mountain Laurel Honored with Top Environmental Stewardship Award in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (January 18, 2007) - Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced its Mountain Laurel mining complex earned top honors for reclamation excellence from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

The Greenlands Award was presented to Mingo Logan's Mountain Laurel mine for its outstanding achievements in environmental stewardship in 2006. An Arch Coal subsidiary has claimed the top award for the past five out of six years.

Engineering design and construction of the new Mountain Laurel complex utilized exemplary reclamation and drainage techniques to protect the environment and native wildlife. Mountain Laurel also convenes a community advisory panel, which meets regularly and promotes a common ground of understanding, communication and exchange on ideas of importance to the community.

"We're very proud of the extraordinary efforts the employees of Mountain Laurel have taken to build a state-of-the-art mining complex that demonstrates our strong commitment to environmental care, safety and social responsibility," said Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our goal is to be a good neighbor at all of our operations."

Mountain Laurel's engineers applied Environmental Best Management Practices, including oversized sediment control structures to handle excessive precipitation, as well as aqua dams made of polyethylene tubes to control water flow and drainage in an environmentally safe manner.

Additionally, Arch Coal and its Mountain Laurel complex provided funding for a new highway, bridge and railroad overpass across Seng Camp Creek that cost $5.2 million, as well as a five-mile expansion of a public potable water system to Sharples, W.Va., that is valued at $1.3 million.

"In short, the employees of Mountain Laurel have achieved superlative results to which all mining operations should aspire," said West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney at the recent awards ceremony.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer. The company's core business is providing U.S. power generators with clean-burning, low-sulfur coal for electric generation. Through its national network of mines, Arch supplies the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. A list of Arch's environmental and safety awards is available at http://www.archcoal.com/aboutus/awards.asp .

Source: Arch Coal Archives