COMMENTS BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENAL RIGHTS ON THE DRAFT MINE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY POSITION

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides critical feedback on the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) draft Mine Water Management Policy Position. The CER argues that the draft understates the crisis of mine water management in South Africa, citing a systemic failure in mine closures and a lack of compliance monitoring and enforcement. The CER recommends that the DWS utilize existing legislative tools—specifically the National Water Act (NWA), the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA)—to enforce the 'polluter pays' principle and secure financial provisions for water treatment before granting licenses.

• The CER asserts that the draft policy position understates the severity of mine water management issues, noting that mine closures rarely follow regulatory guidelines. They highlight a global trend where only 9% of 57 studied mines achieved closure, and argue that in South Africa, the impact of mining on water is often permanent due to treatment costs, non-compliance, or inadequate enforcement.
• The CER identifies a critical gap in the draft policy's scope, which focuses on water quality but ignores water quantity. They cite a 2015/16 incident where Tendele Mining (Pty) Ltd depleted an underground resource at the Somkhele Mine, leaving the local community without water, as evidence of the need for policies managing water abstraction during droughts.
• The CER argues that the DWS fails to implement Section 30 of the National Water Act (NWA), which allows the authority to require security from water use licence (WUL) applicants for their obligations. They state this is essential because the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) often fails to require financial provision for water treatment costs.
• The CER recommends that the DWS integrate several existing laws into the policy framework to better protect water resources, including the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA) to prohibit mining in critical water source areas, and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) to avoid inappropriate development in those areas.
• The CER criticizes the 'Key Policy Considerations' in the draft, stating that questions regarding whether legal liabilities are being enforced are not policy questions but factual ones that have already been answered in the negative. They call for a shift toward improving compliance monitoring and enforcement (CME), including the appointment of a senior champion and the designation of Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) to enforce the NWA.
• The CER warns against the practice of selling marginal mines to smaller companies as a closure strategy, noting that the DMR and DWS often allow transfers of rights without adequate public participation or assessment of the transferee's financial capacity to handle environmental liabilities.
• The CER supports the creation of 'no-go' areas for mines in water source areas and sensitive ecosystems. They suggest amending the NWA to empower the Minister of Water and Sanitation to declare these areas, similar to powers existing under NEMA or the MPRDA.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). COMMENTS BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENAL RIGHTS ON THE DRAFT MINE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY POSITION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-comments-on-the-Draft-Mine-Water-Management-Policy-Position-4-September-2017.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COMMENTS BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENAL RIGHTS ON THE DRAFT MINE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY POSITION. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-comments-on-the-Draft-Mine-Water-Management-Policy-Position-4-September-2017.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COMMENTS BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENAL RIGHTS ON THE DRAFT MINE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY POSITION |date=4 September 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-comments-on-the-Draft-Mine-Water-Management-Policy-Position-4-September-2017.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017comments, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COMMENTS BY THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENAL RIGHTS ON THE DRAFT MINE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY POSITION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-comments-on-the-Draft-Mine-Water-Management-Policy-Position-4-September-2017.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }