October 18, 2019 was not a very good day for the commercial peat sector.  That morning, Mr Justice Garrett Simons appeared to bring down the proverbial gavel on business as usual for the export-driven sector and key supplier of growing medium for the mushroom, soft fruits and gardening industries.  In his ruling, the High Court judge quashed regulations introduced in January of that year to bring all large-scale extraction under a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) licensing system and remove the need for planning permission for commercial peat operators.  This would have been a major relief for the industry as…