SUBMISSIONS ON THE DRAFT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY-LAW

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides detailed legal submissions on a draft Air Quality Management By-law, advocating for stronger public participation, mandatory rather than discretionary emission standards, and the removal of 'rectification' provisions for unlawful activities.

• The CER argues that the Municipality's powers to develop and set local emission standards under section 7(2) and (3) should be mandatory legal obligations rather than discretionary powers, specifically requiring the identification of critical public health factors and sensitive sub-populations.
• The CER strongly recommends the complete removal of section 30, which allows for the 'rectification' of activities commenced without authorization. They argue that ex post facto authorization creates 'perverse incentives', is subject to abuse, and undermines the regulatory system by providing a 'bypass' for companies that can afford fines.
• If the 'rectification' provision in section 30 is retained, the CER proposes that administrative fines be applied per activity rather than a flat cap of R5 million, and that a formal policy for imposing fines must be established before such applications are accepted.
• The CER emphasizes that all administrative actions, authorization applications, and amendments must strictly comply with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA) and Chapter 4 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (MSA) to ensure fair public participation.
• Regarding open burning under section 16, the CER submits that the Municipality should not be exempt from regulation and must provide prior written notice to adjacent property owners before conducting any burning activities.
• The CER recommends that the Municipality only set local emission standards for pollutants actually present in the ambient air within the HPA to avoid straining limited municipal resources.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2015). SUBMISSIONS ON THE DRAFT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY-LAW. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annexure-3-Submissions-on-Draft-By-law.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SUBMISSIONS ON THE DRAFT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY-LAW. 2015. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annexure-3-Submissions-on-Draft-By-law.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SUBMISSIONS ON THE DRAFT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY-LAW |date=May 2015 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annexure-3-Submissions-on-Draft-By-law.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2015submissions, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SUBMISSIONS ON THE DRAFT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BY-LAW}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2015}, month = may, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annexure-3-Submissions-on-Draft-By-law.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }