SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 27


markets. Two companies market their product outside of Florida, primar-
ily in the southeast United States. One of the companies, however, ships
bulk peat to Texas where it is bagged for retail sale.

 Use of Peat

 The principal use of peat mined in Florida is as a soil conditioner, with
large amounts being used for lawns, golf courses and in nurseries and
greenhouses.
 The majority of Florida peat production is marketed as a bulk product
(typically truck loads of 30 50 cubic yard) for nursery and landscaping
purposes, with the remainder bagged for the retail market. The peat may
be marketed as is (peat only) or blended with other materials to form
topsoil and potting soil products. Blended products are generally custom
mixed to the customers' specifications. Quartz sand, sawdust and wood
chips are typical ingredients added in order to improve the drainage char-
acteristics of the peat. The nurseries may blend their own potting soil
mixes using bulk peat purchased from mining companies. The bulk mate-
rials may be utilized as a growing medium for nursery plants, or bagged
for retail sale.
 Peat from several Florida deposits has been tested for suitability as an
alternative boiler fuel. Although tests have indicated that peat can be an
effective and price competitive fuel, there is no current peat usage for
fuel in Florida.

 PERMITTING

 by
 Kenneth M. Campbell

 County, state and federal permits may be required in order to open a
new peat mine. The process is very site specific and varies from county
to county. Under some conditions, permits may not be required by any
agency.

 County Level Permits

 Operational peat mines are located in 12 Florida counties. In most of
the counties, zoning regulations are the only county regulations which
apply to opening a peat mine. A summary of county permitting processes
is shown in Table 3.

 State Level Permitting

 The primary state agencies with permitting responsibility with respect
to peat mining are the Department of Environmental Regulation (DER)
and the five individual Water Management Districts. The Department of