Public Radio for the Central Kenai Peninsula
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Carhartts and Xtratufs Ball — get tickets here!

Working group digs into peat

 

The borough’s material site working group is focused mainly on gravel pits on the Peninsula. But gravel isn’t the only material being dug up, sold and used. At its most recent meeting the working group got into peat.

 

 

A precious resource for gardeners, peat was one of the main topics for the materials site working group to discuss. Relative to gravel, there aren’t many peat operations around the Peninsula, and rarely do they overlap. But peat extraction does happen near anadromous streams. That’s an area of the code that group member Brent Johnson would like to get a closer look, as there could be implications for water quality.

“But in areas that aren’t (near) anadromous streams, then we ought to have a set of rules that will work for people. And if there’s something specific that you’re looking for in how that water is handled, then we need to write that in here. I see no reason to keep a person from mining some peat if it’s not hurting anything and there’s a market for it," Johnson said.

Karyn Noyes is a resource planner at the Kenai River Center. She says there are a lot of things to consider when thinking about digging up peat in an anadromous zone.

“I would think that the size of the operation would be the biggest concern, and the proximity to anadromous streams. We only regulate within 50 feet. If you have a giant wetland that’s next to an anadromous stream, but it’s 100 feet away and you’re going to take all the peat out of it, the quality of the water is going to change. The temperature of the water is going to change. But that’s what I would be concerned about, is how that change of, when it rains, is it going to be able to function the same with how much water it can absorb.”

How a materials site digging up peat affects groundwater is a concern, especially depending on its location, but, tracking groundwater under a peat bog is tricky, says group chair Robert Ruffner. Especially compared to a gravel site.

“It stores water differently, it’s delivery time of having (water) sink through vertically is much different than it is in sand and gravel. So I’m just not sure that when we talk about monitoring the groundwater for peat that we can expect to do it in the same way and get the same type of information out of it. And it may not even be all that relevant because for the most part, peat acts like a sponge and it just holds that water.”

The group will be looking for more comments from peat manufacturers when it opens meetings up for public hearings next month, with one in Soldotna and another in Anchor Point. The group will meet once more before then, on March 28th.