CHARLESTON, W.Va. (March 2, 2005) - Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced that its Coal-Mac subsidiary earned top honors for reclamation excellence from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

This is the fourth year in a row that an Arch Coal subsidiary claimed the top environmental award in the state, the Greenlands Award, for its outstanding achievements in post-mining land use. Coal-Mac also won in 2003. Arch's subsidiaries Arch of West Virginia and Mingo Logan Coal Company received the prestigious award in 2004 and 2002, respectively.

According to the DEP, Coal-Mac's Phoenix Mine received the 2004 Greenlands award for "outstanding effort and the successful deployment of modern mining and reclamation techniques."

"Arch continues to prove itself to be a leader in environmental stewardship," said DEP Cabinet Secretary Stephanie R. Timmermeyer. "Year after year, Arch's Coal-Mac employees carry out quality reclamation work using the latest in mining and reclamation techniques."

Coal-Mac refined the practice of surface mine reclamation with an approach that reflects Central Appalachia's natural terrain while further minimizing erosion and run-off from heavy rains. Coal-Mac's Phoenix No. 2 Mine is the first surface permit issued in West Virginia that utilizes this approach.

Coal-Mac, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) and shipped approximately 2.6 million tons of coal in 2004. Coal-Mac's Phoenix operation is located in Ragland, W.Va. on the border of Mingo and Logan Counties.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer and mines cleaner burning, 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.