LOUISVILLE — Environmentalists oppose two coal companies' requests for two underground mines in the Daniel Boone National Forest, even though one of the company's lead engineers says the mines won't harm the areas.

        Chas Coal Co., based in Bell County, is seeking a permit to dig a tunnel from private property to mine below a 315-acre section of the forest in Clay County. Southfork Coal wants to mine 64 acres in McCreary County.

        Supporters say the mines would create jobs in McCreary and Clay counties, which are both among the top 10 counties in unemployment, and generate taxes and government royalty fees.

        There are already mining operations on federal property and several mines on private land in the 670,000-acre forest in eastern Kentucky.

        Clifford Berry, Chas Coal's director of engineering, said the company has been working on a plan to mine safely in the forest for more than two years.

        “I'm sure (environmentalists) have some basis for their response to mining in some areas,” Mr. Berry said. “But there should be no surface disturbance at all” within the federal forest.

        Environmentalists disagree.

        “This is a pristine area that should be protected. Sometimes you have to make choices, and protecting an area of natural beauty should be the top priority,” said Aloma Dew, a member of the state Environmental Quality Commission.

        The commission plans to make a recommendation to Gov. Paul Patton.

        John Lewis, a mining engineer with the Bureau of Land Management, which administers federal coal in Kentucky, said the overall economic growth from the mines is projected to be several million dollars.

        Mr. Lewis said the companies would have to pay an 8 percent royalty to the state and the federal treasury on profits. The counties and state would receive a revenue boost from the coal severance tax, property and use tax, and black-lung excise tax.

        Terry Sebastian, a Patton spokesman, said the governor's office had no stance on the new mining and would stand by the decision of the Kentucky Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

        Although surface mining in the forest is prohibited, underground mining is allowed, mostly on pockets of privately owned land. The government also has leased mineral rights for five mines on federal property in the forest, most recently in 1998.

        Before new mining could begin, approval from several federal agencies, as well as the state, is needed. The federal government, which has the final say, will examine the environmental impact, finish a draft report and hold a public meeting this summer.

        The state review will be the first by Kentucky's surface mining department since taking over coal permitting from the federal government in 1998. Allen Luttrell, deputy commissioner of the state agency, said a thorough review of permit applications will be conducted after the federal agencies make their assessments.

        The existing mines on federal land in Boone did not undergo state review. The federal Office of Surface Mining had final say on issuing permits until procedures were changed in 1998.

        Chas Coal made its request to mine in the forest in January 2000, a permit application that sought to lease 227 acres of federal land. Earlier this year, the company asked that additional acreage be included in the permit.

        Before the U.S. Interior Department can give the final go-ahead, the proposals require approval from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Office of Surface Mining, as well as the Kentucky surface mining department. That process could take several months, said Corey Miller, a geologist with the Forest Service.

        “Our No. 1 goal is to protect the forest,” Mr. Miller said. “We have to find a balance between environmental concerns and the commodity.”

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