Walter Energy's bankruptcy is exceptional, both to the state of Alabama and to the coal industry.
The Birmingham Alabama coal company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $5 billion in debts on Wednesday, a number topping Jefferson County's bankruptcy and any other coal company in the country since prices started dropping in 2012.
More than three dozen coal companies filed bankruptcy since 2012, according a report by SNL Energy. With $5 billion in assets, Walter Energy's is the biggest, topping both of Patriot Coal's bankruptcies