Jim Walter Resources Joins National Greenhouse Emissions Registry

TAMPA, Fla., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Walter Industries, Inc. announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jim Walter Resources, Inc. has joined the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse emissions reduction, registry and trading program. By becoming a member of CCX, Jim Walter Resources has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through its extensive methane drainage operation.

"Jim Walter Resources has been an innovator in the capture and sale of methane gas in Alabama's Black Warrior Basin," said George Richmond, chief executive officer of Jim Walter Resources. "We are turning methane gas into an energy source instead of allowing it to escape into the atmosphere. We are pleased to become a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange as we exercise our responsibility toward our global green initiatives."

Walter Industries, Inc., a Tampa-based company with revenues of approximately $1.3 billion, is a leading producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry and also produces steam coal, coal bed methane gas, furnace and foundry coke and other coal-based products. The Company also operates a mortgage financing and affordable homebuilding unit. The Company employs approximately 2,800 people. For more information about Walter Industries, please visit the Company Website at http://www.walterind.com/.