8-K

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): July 27, 2006

Arch Coal, Inc.
__________________________________________
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	1-13105	43-0921172
_____________________ (State or other jurisdiction	_____________ (Commission	______________ (I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)
One CityPlace Drive, Suite 300, St. Louis, Missouri		63141
_________________________________ (Address of principal executive offices)		___________ (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (314) 994-2725

Not Applicable
______________________________________________
Former name or former address, if changed since last report

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[  ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[  ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

On July 27, 2006, the Board of Directors of Arch Coal, Inc. (the "Company") increased the size of the Board of Directors to twelve and elected Brian J. Jennings to fill the newly-created vacancy, effective immediately. Mr. Jennings will serve as a Class I director and his term will expire at the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company. Mr. Jennings will serve on the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On July 27, 2006, the Company issued a press release announcing the changes described above. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is hereby incorporated by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

The following exhibits are attached hereto and filed herewith.

Exhibit No. Description

99.1 Press release dated July 27, 2006

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	Arch Coal, Inc.
July 27, 2006	By:	Robert G. Jones
		Name: Robert G. Jones
		Title: Vice President - Law, General Counsel and Secretary

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press release dated July 27, 2006

EX-99.1

News from
Arch Coal, Inc.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Media – Kim Link 314/994-2936

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 27, 2006

Arch Coal Names Jennings to Board of Directors

ST. LOUIS (July 27, 2006) – Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced Brian J. Jennings, 45, has been elected to its board of directors effective immediately. Jennings will serve on the board’s finance and audit committees.

“I’m pleased Brian has joined our board of directors,” said Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Brian’s expertise in corporate finance for the global energy industry will be extremely valuable to the board and Arch’s objective of creating long-term value.”

Jennings is currently senior vice president of corporate finance and development and chief financial officer of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) in Oklahoma City. Prior to joining Devon in 2000, Jennings was managing director in the Energy Investment Banking Group of PaineWebber Inc. He began his investment banking career at Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1989 before moving to Lehman Brothers in 1992 and later to PaineWebber in 1997. Jennings specialized in providing strategic advisory and corporate finance services to public and private companies in the natural resource sector. He started his energy career with ARCO International Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Co.

Jennings received a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer. Through its subsidiary operations in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia, Arch Coal provides the fuel for approximately 6% of the electricity generated in the United States.

# # #

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.