Coal company to tunnel beneath state park

[The Straight Story]

Coal company to tunnel beneath state park
Critics question state's claim that water supply is safe


Ohio officials have struck a deal that allows a coal company to tunnel below Burr Oak to connect an active mine with an untapped coal reserve just east of the state park.

State officials say the agreement, which allows the Buckingham Coal Co. to mine the 41-acre tunnel in return for royalties, was signed to protect the 2,600-acre state park in Morgan and Athens counties.

In return for the tunnel and rights to 155 acres of state-owned coal, Buckingham gave up ownership of 244 acres of coal near the park's lake and beneath its main entrance. Some of the Buckingham-owned coal abuts the lake's western shore, something that surprised state officials.

"We were a little taken aback that we didn't own all of the mineral interests under this park," said Trish Lanahan, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "We took this opportunity to shore up the boundaries of this park."

Lanahan said the deal, which will provide a one-time $210,000 royalty, will help protect the lake from a nightmare scenario, one in which lake water drains into a collapsed mine. The legislature passed the agreement in December.

Without the agreement, Lanahan said the company could have mined coal beneath the park's main entrance and right up to the lake's western shore.

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