BUREAU OF GEOLOGY


 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

 A mining operation (including peat mining) is considered to be a devel-
opment of regional impact (DRI) when either of two criteria are met. The
criteria are: (1) when more than 100 acres per year are mined or dis-
turbed and (2) when water consumption exceeds 3,000,000 gallons per
day. (Sarah Nail, Department of Community Affairs, personal communi-
cation, 1984).

 Federal Level Permitting

 Two federal agencies, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have permitting jurisdiction
which may apply to peat mining. Each agency will be discussed below.

 ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

 The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) operates under two federal acts:
The Rivers & Harbors Act and the Clean Water Act (Vic Anderson, ACE,
personal communication, 1984). Both acts apply in navigable waters;
however, only the Clean Water Act applies in non-navigable water. The
legislative mandate of the Clean Water Act is to, "restore and maintain
the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the nation's water".
Authority under the Clean Water Act extends up tributaries and headwa-
ter streams to the point where average annual flow is five cubic feet per
second (CFS). ACE has discretionary authority upstream of this point if
1) toxic materials are released, 2) wild or scenic rivers will be affected, 3)
endangered species are involved, 4) the operation will result in down-
stream turbidity or erosion, or 5) the EPA requests ACE involvement.
Individual permits are required under the River & Harbors Act (navigable
waters), and under the Clean Water Act for tributaries up to the five CFS
mean annual flow point, or beyond if conditions warrant the involve-
ment. When conditions do not warrant involvement above the five CFS
point, the regulations state that the activity is covered by a nationwide
permit.

 THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

 In the past, the EPA has administered air quality and water quality
permitting programs. Air quality regulation and permitting has been dele-
gated to the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. The state
of Florida requires permits for all sources of air pollution. The EPA still
controls the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permitting. A NPDES permit is required for any operation which would