Introduction - Coal Waste Impoundments: Risks, Responses, and Alternatives - page 3

interior states, coal occurs in several separate basins from Michigan to Texas.
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal beds
throughout the United States produced 1.08 billion tons of coal in 2000, the
12th consecutive year in which 900 million tons or more were mined. In recent
years, U.S. coal production has exhibited the following trends:
• Western mines account for an increasing share of total production
( Figure 1.1 ).
• Fewer coal mines are operating, but those mines are larger.
• Surface mines produce an increased proportion of coal overall.
• Longwall mining produces an increased fraction of coal mined underground.
FIGURE 1.1 Coal production by region, 1989-2000. From Energy Information
Administration, 2001.