BUREAU OF GEOLOGY


land systems associated with mining will result in displacement and pos-
sibly in some cases death of flora and fauna specially adapted to an
individual wetland environment. Florida Statutes pertaining to wetland
regulation are included in Appendix C of this document.

 The Effects of Peat Mining on Water Quality

 This discussion is primarily from a study of environmental issues asso-
ciated with peat mining prepared for the United States Department of
Energy by King, et al. (1980).
 The water quality of surface waters flowing from a peatland is charac-
teristic of the peatland and controls to some extent aquatic habitats both
onsite and downstream. Peat mining will be accompanied by discharge
of water from drainage as well as waste water derived from the process-
ing of peat for energy purposes. The release of organic and inorganic
compounds is thought to be capable of generating a number of water
quality impacts (King, et al., 1980). The following water quality charac-
teristics are listed in decreasing order of importance. It is also noted that
this list may not include all possible water quality problems. Table 4 ranks
water quality issues with respect to scales of peatland development:
 1. Low pH
 2. High BOD/COD
 3. Nutrients
 4. Organic Compounds
 5. Colloidal and Settleable Solids
 6. Heavy Metals
 7. Carcinogenic and Toxic Materials
 Water discharged from a peatland may be acidic in character because
waters entering the peatland lack natural buffering capacity. Addition-
ally, hydrogen ion production and organic acids produced by plant photo-
synthesis and decomposition contribute to the acidic nature of waters
from peatlands. The pH values from ombrotrophic peatlands range from
3 to 4 and from minerotrophic peatlands range from 4 to 8 (King, et al.,
1980). Although these low pH values are of completely natural origin,
they can result in significant changes to the aquatic ecosystem. These
changes may include species specific fertility problems, morbidity, mor-
tality and mobility problems as well as other physical and physiological
problems (King, et al., 1980).
 The discharge of waters resulting from peatland drainage as well as
discharge of water released by the dewatering process may create Bio-
chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).
The dissolved oxygen levels in surface streams are crucial for protection
of fishery resources. These oxygen levels may be depressed as a result
of increased turbidity within the stream and the decomposition of soluble
and insoluble material by aerobic microbiota.
 Peatlands are known to store nitrogen and phosphorus. Thus, concern
exists that, during drainage and processing, significant amounts of these