CHARLESTON, W.Va. (March 8, 2005) - Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced that Arch of West Virginia, a wholly owned subsidiary, received the 2004 "Wildlife West Virginia Award" for its outstanding accomplishments in the enhancement of wildlife habitat on reclaimed mine lands.

"We're proud that our dedicated Arch of West Virginia miners were recognized for going above-and-beyond standard reclamation practices and achieving true excellence," says Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal's president and chief executive officer. "Receipt of this award underscores Arch Coal's corporate commitment to the environment and the communities in which we operate."

Arch of West Virginia's award-winning reclamation efforts include the establishment and enhancement of wildlife habitat over the 17-year life of the operation. Arch of West Virginia created water sources, developed sustainable food supplies and designed protective cover to help a variety of native wildlife species, including wild turkey, wood ducks, whitetail deer, black bear and mourning doves, thrive on this former mine site.

Arch of West Virginia has earned a number of national and state awards for its excellence in reclamation in recent years, including the Director's Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Greenlands Award and the Interstate Mining Compact Commission's Kenes C. Bowling Award.

In 1993, Arch's Hobet Mining was the first recipient of the Wildlife West Virginia Award. Arch's operations have been recognized with the Wildlife West Virginia Award a total of six times in the last 12 years.

Located in Logan County, Arch of West Virginia employs roughly 275 people, and its operations produced 3.1 million tons of coal in 2004.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer and mines low-sulfur coal exclusively. Through its subsidiary operations in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, Arch provides the fuel for approximately 7 percent of the electricity generated in the United States.