BUREAU OF GEOLOGY


ally to a maximum of three years provided all requirements are met.
Approval of a peatland exploration license is granted only if the applicant:
has no other license in effect; can demonstrate the proposed develop-
ment will not adversely affect the future availability of peat for an exist-
ing leaseholder; and can market the product without jeopardizing the
existing industry in the province.
 "After determining the portion of the exploration area best suited for
the proposed use, the applicant may then apply for a peat lease of 250
hectares (620 acres). This application must include a drainage plan, a
harvesting and future expansion plan, and an abandonment plan. If all
requirements are met a lease can be granted for a period of ten years.
Renewal for further ten year periods is possible if certain minimum pro-
duction requirements and other conditions are met. A security deposit to
ensure compliance with production and abandonment plans is required.
 "The size and term of leases is designed to avoid the holding and
under-utilization of large tracts of peatlands for extended periods. How-
ever, to ensure the opportunity for expansion, the holder of a lease may
negotiate a time limited option on an adjacent buffer zone."

 PEATLANDS MANAGEMENT, STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

 (Recommendations prepared by the Peat Mining Task Force,
 Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, State
 of North Carolina, January 1983)

 "The DNRCD Peat Mining Task Force has completed its review of the
department's permitting procedures for peat mining. It has also reviewed
its own 1981 recommendations, updating them as necessary. In the
recommendations below, whenever a 1981 recommendation has been
updated or repeated, it is so noted and major changes are explained. The
task force considered the issues of peat use and has reconsidered the
overall impacts of peat mining. From this effort have come the conclu-
sions and recommendations in this report. Specific recommendations
follow.
1. Existing Permits
 "The review of the five existing mining permits for peat mines has led
the task force to conclude that all five of them should be revised to
include the recommendations in this report. The three existing peat
mines which do not have NPDES, air quality, and water use permits
should be required to apply immediately for these permits. The Division
of Land Resources, in coordination with the Division of Environmental
Management, should immediately notify permit holders of this determi-
nation. In the case of these three, the revision of the mining permit and
the applications for the three DEM permits should be treated as a pack-
age and public meetings held. In addition to the mining permit revision,
the other two mines (PEATCO and Whitetail) should have their water and
air permits revised to reflect the contents of Table III.