URGENT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REASONS REGARDING THE WATER USE LICENCE FOR THE PROPOSED KHANYISA INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP) COAL-FIRED POWER STATION (LICENCE NO 06/B11F/CGIHE/6684)

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of groundWork (gW), has issued an urgent request to the South African Department of Water and Sanitation for information and reasons regarding a water use licence (WUL) issued for the proposed 600 MW Khanyisa Independent Power Producer (IPP) coal-fired power station.

• A water use licence (licence no: 06/B11F/CGHIE/6684) for the proposed 600 MW Khanyisa coal-fired power station appears to have been issued by the Acting Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation on 7 December 2017, though the CER questions why the Director-General issued it instead of the Olifants Catchment Management Agency (CMA).
• The CER and its client, groundWork, claim they were not notified of the WUL decision despite groundWork submitting an objection to the application on 23 January 2017. They only became aware of the licence through the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), which provided a copy on 28 February 2018.
• The CER alleges that the appointed environmental assessment practitioner (EAP), Aurecon, acted unlawfully by refusing to disclose whether a WUL had been issued or to provide requested information to interested and affected parties, citing instructions from the applicant, ACWA Power Khanyisa Thermal Power Station RF (Pty) Ltd.
• The CER has requested a comprehensive set of documents by 9 March 2018 to facilitate a potential appeal under section 148(1) of the National Water Act, including the Integrated Water Use Licence application (IWULA) from November 2016, a subsequent IWULA and Integrated Water Management Plan dated 8 June 2017, and a 2011 Geohydrological Report.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). URGENT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REASONS REGARDING THE WATER USE LICENCE FOR THE PROPOSED KHANYISA INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP) COAL-FIRED POWER STATION (LICENCE NO 06/B11F/CGIHE/6684). https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CER-letter-to-DWS-re-Khanyisa-WULA_01.03.18.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. URGENT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REASONS REGARDING THE WATER USE LICENCE FOR THE PROPOSED KHANYISA INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP) COAL-FIRED POWER STATION (LICENCE NO 06/B11F/CGIHE/6684). 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CER-letter-to-DWS-re-Khanyisa-WULA_01.03.18.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=URGENT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REASONS REGARDING THE WATER USE LICENCE FOR THE PROPOSED KHANYISA INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP) COAL-FIRED POWER STATION (LICENCE NO 06/B11F/CGIHE/6684) |date=1 March 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CER-letter-to-DWS-re-Khanyisa-WULA_01.03.18.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018urgent, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{URGENT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND REASONS REGARDING THE WATER USE LICENCE FOR THE PROPOSED KHANYISA INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP) COAL-FIRED POWER STATION (LICENCE NO 06/B11F/CGIHE/6684)}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CER-letter-to-DWS-re-Khanyisa-WULA_01.03.18.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }