Arch Coal Comments on EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regulations

ST. LOUIS, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI) issued the following statement as a follow-up to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed greenhouse gas regulations announced on June 2:

"After analyzing EPA's 645-page proposal and supporting technical documents, it is increasingly evident that the Administration's plan for regulating greenhouse gases would place the U.S. economy at serious risk," said Arch Coal Senior Vice President of Strategy and Public Policy Deck S. Slone.

"As was demonstrated this past winter, the U.S. power grid is already in a precarious state due to regulation-driven power plant retirements that are just now getting under way. In January and February, energy prices spiked in many regions and blackouts were avoided by the slimmest of margins.

"Despite these obvious stresses – and the very real costs they are imposing on U.S. consumers – the Administration has proposed another round of regulations that would drive still more plant closures. Most surprising is the fact that the Administration would be willing to pursue such costly regulations without the potential for any discernible impact on greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

"Fortunately, the ultimate authority for addressing greenhouse gas regulations under the relevant provision of the Clean Air Act rests with the states. Many state legislatures and attorneys general have already spoken out in opposition to any plan that threatens to drive up consumer energy costs and force premature power plant closures. The EPA-proposed caps are remarkably punitive for many states – particularly those that house America's manufacturing base. We and many others will continue to encourage the states to stand their ground against EPA's efforts to impose a costly new program that goes far beyond what the law allows.

"America cannot shrink its way to a low-carbon future, nor can we address global climate concerns unilaterally. The fact is that fossil fuels are virtually certain to remain the primary fuel source for world energy needs through at least mid-century.

"We strongly encourage the Administration to reconsider its regulatory approach and to focus instead on robust investment in advanced technologies, including carbon capture, utilization and storage. That is the rational way forward for addressing climate concerns."


Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, particular uncertainties arise from changes in the demand for our coal by the domestic electric generation industry; from legislation and regulations relating to the Clean Air Act and other environmental initiatives; from operational, geological, permit, labor and weather-related factors; from fluctuations in the amount of cash we generate from operations; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. For a description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results, you should see the risk factors described from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Arch Coal Inc.
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