Sulfur emissions taxes and coal resources. [Effects of 5 to 20 cents tax per lb of emitted sulfur per ton of coal]

A sulfur emissions tax could have significant regional effects on the coal industry. Although such a tax does indeed improve air quality by reducing sulfur emissions, the net environmental impact of the tax must be weighed against the result that surface production would increase in precisely those areas where the controversy over the land use impacts of surface mining is most severe. Although the increase in the price of energy from coal would be significant, the alternative is an increased dependence on oil imports. Given the locational advantage of Appalachian producers to major utility markets, the results indicate that the competitive position of low sulfur production by both surface and underground mining in Appalachia would be significantly increased with the sulfur emissions tax.