The purpose of this literature review is to collect and assess the available literature of the management of coal preparation wastes. Three areas in particular will be examined. They are: (1) current and projected future production of coal preparation wastes, (2) characteristics of regulated constituents present in such wastes, and (3) current and potential future techniques available for managing such wastes. With coal production figures steadily rising there is a need to know how much coal preparation waste is generated now, and how much will be generated in the future. With nearly all the naturally-occurring elements present in coal wastes, elements released in harmful amounts are identified, and current and future techniques for handling harmful effluents are discussed.