UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. )*

WESTMORELAND COAL COMPANY

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

960878106

(CUSIP Number)

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

October 30, 2015

(Date of Event which Requires Filing of this Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following box  x.

Note: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See Rule §240.13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

Continued on following page(s)

Page 1 of 10 Pages

Item 1. Security and Issuer.

The title of the class of equity security to which this statement on Schedule 13D relates is the Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Shares”) of Westmoreland Coal Company, a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”). The address of the Issuer’s principal executive offices is 9540 South Maroon Circle, Suite 200, Englewood, CO 80112.

Item 2. Identity and Background.

This statement is filed by the entities and persons listed below, all of whom together are referred to herein as the “Reporting Persons”:

Jeffrey A. Bersh and Michael J. Wartell are United States citizens. A joint filing agreement of the Reporting Persons is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.

During the last five years, none of the Reporting Persons has been convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors) or and has been a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.

The Reporting Persons used working capital of the Accounts to purchase the 1,136,369 Shares reported herein. The total purchase price for the 1,136,369 Shares reported herein was approximately $29,176,953.

The Reporting Persons may effect purchases of securities through margin accounts maintained for them with brokers, which extend margin credit as and when required to open or carry positions in their margin accounts, subject to applicable federal margin regulations, stock exchange rules and such firms’ credit policies. Positions in Shares may be held in margin accounts and may be pledged as collateral security for the repayment of debit balances in the accounts.

Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.

On October 30, 2015, the Reporting Persons sent to the independent directors of the Issuer a letter addressing concerns and proposing solutions with respect to the Issuer’s communication with shareholders and capital allocation policy. The letter stated the Reporting Persons’ strong belief that the Issuer should commence a stock buyback program and requested that the Reporting Persons be given the right to designate two members of the Issuer’s board of directors (the “Board”).

A copy of the letter is filed herewith as Exhibit 2 and is incorporated herein by reference.

The Reporting Persons acquired the Shares over which they exercise beneficial ownership in the belief that the Shares are an attractive investment. Certain of the Reporting Persons have had and may continue to have discussions with the Issuer’s management and members of the Board to discuss the Issuer’s business and strategies. The Reporting Persons have found their conversations to date with management to be constructive, and may seek to have additional conversations with the management, the Board, stockholders of the Issuer, and other persons to discuss the Issuer’s business, strategies and other matters related to the Issuer. These discussions have reviewed, and may continue to review, options for enhancing shareholder value through various strategic alternatives.

The Reporting Persons intend to review their respective investment in the Issuer on a continuing basis and may from time to time and at any time in the future depending on various factors, including, without limitation, the outcome of any discussions referenced above, the Issuer’s financial position and strategic direction, actions taken by the Board, price levels of the Shares, other investment opportunities available to the Reporting Person, conditions in the securities market and general economic and industry conditions, take such actions with respect to the investment in the Issuer as they deem appropriate, including: (i) acquiring additional Shares and/or other equity, debt, notes, other securities, or derivative or other instruments that are based upon or relate to the value of the Shares or the Issuer (collectively, “Securities”) of the Issuer in the open market or otherwise; (ii) disposing of any or all of their Securities in the open market or otherwise; (iii) engaging in any hedging or similar transactions with respect to the Securities; or (iv) proposing or considering one or more of the actions described in subsections (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.

Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

(a) – (b) Venor Capital Master Fund may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 1,010,940 Shares, which represent approximately 5.6% of the Issuer’s outstanding Shares. Venor Capital Master Fund may be deemed to have shared power to vote and shared power to dispose of 1,010,940 Shares. Each of the Reporting Persons (other than Venor Capital Master Fund) may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 1,136,369 Shares, which represent approximately 6.3% of the Issuer’s outstanding Shares. Each of the Reporting Persons (other than Venor Capital Master Fund) may be deemed to have shared power to vote and shared power to dispose of 1,136,369 Shares.

The percentages in the immediately foregoing paragraph and in the cover page to this Schedule 13D are calculated based on a total of 17,967,403 Shares outstanding as of July 24, 2015 (as disclosed in the Issuer’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on July 31, 2015).

(c) There have been no transactions with respect to the Shares during the sixty days prior to the date hereof by any of the Reporting Persons.

(d) The limited partners or owners of (or investors in) the Accounts, or their subsidiaries or affiliated entities, for which Venor Capital Management or its affiliates acts as investment adviser have the right to participate in the receipt of dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the Shares held by the Accounts in accordance with their respective limited partnership interests (or investment percentages) in the Accounts.

(e) Not applicable.

Item 6. Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships with Respect to Securities of the Issuer.

To the best knowledge of each of the Reporting Persons, there are no contracts, arrangements, understandings or relationships (legal or otherwise) among the persons named in Item 2 and between such persons and any other person with respect to any securities of the Issuer, including but not limited to, transfer or voting of any of the securities, finder’s fees, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees of profits, division of profits or loss, or the giving or withholding of proxies.

Item 7. Material to be Filed as Exhibits.

Exhibit 1 – Agreement, dated the date hereof, by and among Venor Capital Master Fund, Venor Capital Management, Venor Capital GP, Jeffrey A. Bersh and Michael J. Wartell to file this Schedule 13D and any amendments hereto jointly on behalf of each of them.

Exhibit 2 – Letter, dated as of the date hereof, to the independent directors of the Issuer.

SIGNATURES

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

EXHIBIT 1

AGREEMENT

JOINT FILING OF SCHEDULE 13D

The undersigned hereby agree to jointly prepare and file with regulatory authorities this Schedule 13D and any future amendments thereto reporting each of the undersigned’s ownership of securities of Westmoreland Coal Company, and hereby affirm that such Schedule 13D is being filed on behalf of each of the undersigned pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Rule 13d-1(k) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The undersigned acknowledge that each shall be responsible for the timely filing of such amendments, and for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning him or it contained therein, but shall not be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning the other, except to the extent that he or it knows or has reason to believe that such information is inaccurate.

Exhibit 2

October 30, 2015

Independent Members of the Board of Directors

Westmoreland Coal Company

9540 South Maroon Circle, Suite 200

Englewood, CO 80112

Dear Independent Members of the Board of Directors:

We are writing on behalf of Venor Capital Management LP, the investment adviser to certain private investment funds and privately managed accounts (collectively, “Venor”) that, in aggregate, own 1,136,369 shares of Westmoreland Coal Company (“Westmoreland” or the “Company”). As the holder of 6.3% of the Company’s outstanding shares, Venor is one of your largest shareholders.

Westmoreland is an extremely unique company within the coal industry. The Company’s business model involves low cost mine-mouth and/or geographically protected assets that deliver coal on mostly cost-plus or cost-protected contracts. As a result of this, the Company has disclosed that it can deliver coal on average to its power plant customers at $1.50 per mmbtu, allowing customers to operate even in extremely low natural gas environments like today. The Company has an average contract length of 10 years, is bonded with cash collateral, and is not reliant on railroads for coal transportation. Leverage is also manageable in the business. Furthermore, the Company is exposed to much less commodity risk than its peers. All of these factors contribute to Westmoreland’s strong, recurring free cash flow profile, which is very rare in the coal and broader metals/mining industries.

Given the recurring nature of Westmoreland’s cash flows, we feel it is an appropriate valuation metric. Our 2016E Base, Adjusted 2016E Base, and Adjusted 2016E Base + San Juan cash flow valuations are shown below. At the current trading price, free cash flow yields are 32%, 48%, and 60%, respectively. Note that valuation is calculated on a consolidated basis, adjusting for the cash flows due to the minority interest MLP unit holders.

When viewed on an EV/EBITDA basis, valuations are given below. Again, valuations are presented on 2016E Base, Adjusted 2016E, and Adjusted 2016E + San Juan cases below. Valuations are calculated on a consolidated basis, with traditional adjustments for the minority interest MLP unit holders.

7 Times Square, Suite 4303 New York, New York 10036

Phone (212) 703 2100 | Fax (212) 703 2111

www.venorcapital.com

Independent Members of the Board of Directors of Westmoreland Coal Company

October 30, 2015

Page 2 of 5

It is clear in both cases that there is significant upside in the Company’s stock relative to current trading prices. We feel these valuations are conservative as they do not account for future reductions in debt or share count from internally generated cash flows. Additionally, contract mining deals won by the Company could also drive further value.

Despite our belief in Westmoreland, we strongly feel that changes need to be made because the current strategy clearly is not working, as reflected by current trading levels. Specifically, the Company’s stock price as of October 28, 2015 was down 78.3% from the December 31, 2014 closing price. We find this to be a completely unacceptable result given the Company’s differentiated business model and the future cash flow prospects. Despite these competitive advantages, equity performance has been no different than its peer group, many of which face extreme challenges. We also understand that Westmoreland stock represents a material portion of many of the Company’s employees’ net worth, so the suggestions outlined below will also be of great benefit to them.

The “*” indicates companies that are considered the “current peer group index” as of the Company’s 2014 10-K.

We have spoken to many prospective investors in the Company who agree that the Company’s stock is very attractive. Yet, such investors have chosen not to invest. In fact, many of them wholly agree with our estimates above. Their primary concerns can be tied to apprehension over management’s communications with investors and the resulting loss of its credibility, as well as the Company’s capital allocation strategy. We share their concerns and attempt to address each of them below. The good news, we believe, is that there is a clear path to address these issues and, if followed, the Company’s inherent value should once again be reflected in its stock price.

Independent Members of the Board of Directors of Westmoreland Coal Company

October 30, 2015

Page 3 of 5

Communication and Credibility Concern

We think management has done an admirable job of operating the Company in particularly trying times for the coal industry and has, in turn, created an enterprise that should be very valuable despite the macro backdrop. Yet, poor communication by Westmoreland has damaged its credibility. For instance, on the Q2 2015 conference call management provided conflicting statements regarding how the equity is undervalued but then talked about issuing stock for San Juan (although later clarified). There was also confusing commentary regarding share buybacks. The stock finished down 16.8% on a day when normal market indices were down 1% and the coal comparables referenced above were down on average 2.6% (median down 1.6%).

On the Q3 2015 conference calls, investors felt misled regarding the earnings miss caused by an outage at the Conesville plant, especially after comments made at conferences in August and September. Westmoreland attended two conferences in late Q3 2015: (i) the BB&T Capital Markets conference on August 11-12 and (ii) the Imperial Capital conference on September 17. Through conversations with market participants (and based on our own attendance at the Imperial Capital conference), it seems as if investors were blindsided by the severe guidance reductions. We feel an indication of both timing and severity of the EBITDA impact would have been appropriate at these venues. Additionally, management did not adequately explain why it continues to have negative free cash flow. In 2015, there have been many significant one-time cash flow items that need to be clearly outlined in order to unmistakably understand the true operating performance of the business. We feel the Company has actually generated material positive free cash flow, excluding these items and despite the burns at Coal Valley and ROVA. The combination of these factors caused the stock to drop 30.4%. This was on a day when the normal market indices were up 1%, and the coal comparables mentioned above were down 2.5% on average (median down 2.9%). Perceptions of the credibility of the management team are clearly negatively impacting the enterprise value of the Company.

In sum, it seems at times that management views the Company as being privately held, rather than publicly held by shareholders with a right to transparency.

Communication and Credibility Solutions

Although the Board may believe that its current composition is adequate, we feel otherwise. In spite of the sharp contraction in the share price and repeated requests for courses of action, there has been no change. Therefore, we feel that new board members with additional expertise will help the Company regain credibility in the eyes of investors. It seems as if management and the Board are at odds with the shareholders, and this should not – and cannot – be the case. We feel that shareholders need a voice on the Board, and Venor hereby requests the right to designate two new members. We have a number of individuals in mind that we feel could provide valuable industry, capital markets, and communication expertise to the Company. We feel that this will be extremely complementary, and is not intended to be disruptive in this process.

In addition to adding Venor’s designees to the Board, we believe management and the Board should take the following additional steps to improve communication with investors and repair their credibility:

Independent Members of the Board of Directors of Westmoreland Coal Company

October 30, 2015

Page 4 of 5

Capital Allocation Concern

Another concern is the Company’s capital allocation strategy. We feel the Company should immediately stop all M&A-related activities – with the exception of closing the San Juan deal and pursuing contract mining opportunities. We feel contract mining opportunities are low risk, require extremely small upfront capital, and provide a stable cash flow stream. Given the dramatic increase in the Company’s cost of capital and real execution risk, the appropriate venue for capital allocation must be a shrinking of the balance sheet. Current and prospective investors will applaud a capital return story, as it would finally link the valuation of the Company with its cash flow profile. It is notable that the management team clearly emphasizes the free cash flow generating capacity of the business, yet so far has seemed reluctant to return that cash to shareholders.

Capital Allocation Solutions

We understand and appreciate that there are limitations on how much stock the Company can currently buy back due to restrictions in its debt agreements, specifically the revolving credit facility. Upon resolving these restrictions, we feel that the Company could immediately authorize and execute at least a $10 million buyback program and still be compliant with the terms of the other agreements. Given the current share price, a $10 million share buyback would be significant considering such a buyback would represent 7.7% of the market capitalization of the Company at the closing share price on October 28, 2015. Frankly, we are puzzled as to why the Company has not already instituted a share buyback program given repeated advice from shareholders to do so. We feel the cost of amending the revolving credit facilities will be de minimis relative to the value it will create for shareholders.

We note commentary on the previous investor call that seemed to indicate management will be looking to allocate capital back to stakeholders, but indicated such actions would be directed at retiring outstanding debt. Although we appreciate the commentary, we strongly encourage an allocation of capital to share buybacks. We feel that the accretion to free cash flow per share and equity valuation is conservatively 3x that of buying back debt, considering the trading levels of both securities. The math is simple: if we are correct in our view of the long-term cash generation of the business, then capital is much better allocated to a security that earns a 30% free cash flow yield (and growing in future years) versus a fixed income security whose yield to maturity is 13.6%. We appreciate the differing risk spectrums of both securities, but the incremental one turn of EBITDA the Company would pay is more than compensated for by the return (when comparing the market value creations of both securities). The market is handing Westmoreland a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy its stock at very depressed levels, and we believe the Company should be doing all it can to seize this opportunity.

Independent Members of the Board of Directors of Westmoreland Coal Company

October 30, 2015

Page 5 of 5

Furthermore, if our projections on free cash flow are correct, the Company will have ample capacity to meaningfully buy back BOTH stock and debt. For the avoidance of doubt, we are supportive of Westmoreland using cash flow to reduce debt, but share buybacks must also be an integral part of the future capital allocation strategy of the Company.

If implemented, the solutions outlined in this letter will be very useful and are a solid starting point for the recovery of shareholder value. We are committed shareholders and, like other stakeholders, would like to see the Company succeed. We know we are not alone in our opinions, so we urge management and the Board to diligently and in good faith consider our recommendations. In that regard, we would appreciate a public and timely response setting forth actions that will be taken to address each of our suggestions above. In the meantime, we are available to meet with the independent directors to further expound and explore our concerns and ideas. Finally, we welcome other fellow shareholders to make their opinions known to management and the Board.

Very truly yours,

Venor Capital Management LP

Jeffrey A. Bersh		Michael J. Wartell
Co-Chief Investment Officer		Co-Chief Investment Officer