HPA REVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AIR QUALITY IN THE NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2007

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) issued a questionnaire to the eMalahleni Local Municipality (ELM) on 15 June 2016 to conduct a "mini shadow review" of air quality improvements in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) since 2007. The briefing seeks to determine if the municipality has the capacity, financial resources, and personnel to implement the HPA Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) and to assess whether emissions and ambient air quality have actually improved in the Middelburg and eMalahleni areas.

• The Mpumalanga Highveld was declared a priority area for air pollution by the Minister of Environmental Affairs in 2007 under the Air Quality Act (AQA), but air quality in the region remained poor as of 2016.
• The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is conducting a mid-term review of the 2012 HPA AQMP, which began around July 2015, though the CER notes delays in public consultation and the release of a draft report.
• The DEA reported on 12 February 2016 that there are significant data gaps in the information provided by district municipalities regarding the HPA.
• Data from the South African Weather Service and the DEA suggests that the number of ambient air quality standard exceedances increased slightly between 2009 and 2015, though this assessment is hindered by malfunctioning instruments.
• The CER's "mini shadow review" specifically targets the Nkangala District Municipality (NDM) because its jurisdiction contains several large polluting industries and the CER focuses its community support in the eMalahleni and Middelburg areas.
• The CER is seeking specific data from the eMalahleni Local Municipality (ELM) to determine if measures have been implemented since 2007 to reduce dust and improve air quality in dense low-income settlements, particularly regarding domestic coal burning.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). HPA REVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AIR QUALITY IN THE NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2007. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-HPA-Mini-Shadow-Review-Identified-Indicators-for-eMalahleni-Local-Municipality-_15-June-2016.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. HPA REVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AIR QUALITY IN THE NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2007. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-HPA-Mini-Shadow-Review-Identified-Indicators-for-eMalahleni-Local-Municipality-_15-June-2016.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=HPA REVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AIR QUALITY IN THE NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2007 |date=15 June 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-HPA-Mini-Shadow-Review-Identified-Indicators-for-eMalahleni-Local-Municipality-_15-June-2016.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2016hpa, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{HPA REVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE TO DETERMINE WHETHER AIR QUALITY IN THE NKANGALA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2007}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-HPA-Mini-Shadow-Review-Identified-Indicators-for-eMalahleni-Local-Municipality-_15-June-2016.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }