Water Resource Programs:
Importance to America's Coal Industry
     A well-maintained, adequately funded waterways system plays a vital role in our country's economy, particularly for the coal industry.  Outside of the waterways community, however, few people know of the navigation, flood protection, municipal and industrial water supply, and other water resources programs and their far-reaching national benefits.
     Domestically, coal is shipped over water using two methods: by barge via the inland and intracoastal waterways and by ship on the Great Lakes. (International shipments travel aboard large bulk carriers, or coal colliers.)  Together, these waterborne methods of shipment move about 200 million tons of coal, about 16 percent of domestic coal movement.

Did You Know?
FACT: Coal is one of the world's most abundant, efficient, and affordable fuels.  In 1997, the United States produced over 1 billion tons of coal,  with 53% mined east of the Mississippi River, and 47% mined west of the Mississippi River.
FACT: Coal is used in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  It generates nearly 57% of the country's total electricity.  In fact, many waterside utilities in the Midwest and Southeast depend on coal brought by barge from coal fields in the Ohio, Tennessee, and Alabama River Basins and mines in the West.  Coal is also used by the chemical, cement, and paper industries as well as the steel industry, for which it provides an important source of coke.
FACT: U.S. coal exports to foreign destinations contributed $3.1 billion to the U.S. balance of payments in 1998.
FACT: The coal industry employs nearly 100,000 people nationwide.  In the Ohio River Valley states of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the coal industry provides an average of 15% of total employment in waterside counties.  Additionally, much of the coal transported on the Ohio River fuels the region's electrical power plants. (continued)