DECISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TIME-FRAMES FOR MINIMUM AIR QUALITY EMISSION STANDARDS: REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) sent a letter to the National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) on 7 April 2015 requesting urgent clarification on decisions regarding Eskom's applications to postpone compliance with minimum air quality emission standards (MES). The CER identifies numerous discrepancies between Eskom's applications and the final decisions regarding postponement periods and emission limits for various pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

• The CER identified discrepancies where the postponement periods granted by the NAQO differed from those sought by Eskom or those listed in decision letters. For example, at the Arnot power station, the application for PM postponement was listed as 'Indefinitely', but the decision letter listed 'None' for the period sought and granted no decision.
• There are inconsistencies between the emission limits requested by Eskom and those actually granted. In several instances, the NAQO granted limits lower than requested but still recorded the application as 'granted'. For example, at the Camden station, Eskom requested a NOx limit of 1700, but 1300 was granted.
• The CER notes a lack of explicit commencement dates for the new plant MES for certain power stations where postponements were granted in stages with decreasing limits, specifically for PM at Grootvlei, Lethabo, and Tutuka.
• Regarding the 2020 PM standard of 50mg/Nm3, the NAQO did not consider postponement applications for Kendal, Komati, and Lethabo because national ambient air quality standards became stricter on 1 January 2015, while it appeared to implicitly grant a postponement for Kriel.
• For SO2 emissions, the CER claims the NAQO granted open-ended postponements of the 2020 MES for most plants, either by allowing limits 'until decommissioning' or by omitting a compliance date. Kriel and Majuba were granted limits 'until decommissioning', with expected dates potentially extending to 2044 and 2061 respectively.
• In the case of the 2020 SO2 MES, only Kendal and Matimba were explicitly granted a five-year postponement, with a requirement to achieve 500mg/Nm3 by 1 April 2025 due to their contribution to pollution in the Highveld Priority Area.
• Regarding the 2020 NOx MES, the NAQO granted five of the nine postponement applications submitted by Eskom and failed to respond to the remaining four.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2015). DECISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TIME-FRAMES FOR MINIMUM AIR QUALITY EMISSION STANDARDS: REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CER-letter-to-NAQO_7-April-2015.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. DECISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TIME-FRAMES FOR MINIMUM AIR QUALITY EMISSION STANDARDS: REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION. 2015. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CER-letter-to-NAQO_7-April-2015.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=DECISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TIME-FRAMES FOR MINIMUM AIR QUALITY EMISSION STANDARDS: REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION |date=7 April 2015 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CER-letter-to-NAQO_7-April-2015.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2015decision, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{DECISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TIME-FRAMES FOR MINIMUM AIR QUALITY EMISSION STANDARDS: REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CER-letter-to-NAQO_7-April-2015.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }