This casebook explores the law of hard minerals, as opposed to oil and gas law. It presents the law dealing with mineral estates, mining easements, mineral leases, and mining operations on private land, with particular reference to state and federal regulatory schemes inherent in the federal Surface Mining Control and Regulation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as amended. From the mine, the book follows the stream of commerce for coal to the electric utility plant, exploring its transportation and the energy and environmental law regulatory schemes applicable at many points along the way, with particular reference to utility rate regulation and the Clean Air Act amendments from the 1970s forward.

Coal will continue to provide a major portion of energy requirements in the United States for at least the next several decades. It is imperative that accurate information describing the amount, location, and quality of the coal resources and reserves be available to fulfill energy needs. It is also important that the United States extract its coal resources efficiently, safely, and in an environmentally responsible manner. A renewed focus on federal support for coal-related research, coordinated across agencies and with the active participation of the states and industrial sector, is a critical element for each of these requirements. Coal focuses on the research and development needs and priorities in the areas of coal resource and reserve assessments, coal mining and processing, transportation of coal and coal products, and coal utilization.