DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ENFORCEMENT OF MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN THE PRIORITY AREAS; THE HIGHVELD REPORT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS; AND AIR QUALITY IN PRIORITY AREAS AND THE STATUS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) has failed to meet national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) despite a decade of management. The CER highlights that postponements of minimum emission standards (MES) granted to Eskom and Sasol have hindered progress and suggests that Eskom may be violating even its postponed standards. Furthermore, the CER criticizes the state of South Africa's air quality monitoring network, claiming that a majority of stations produce no data and very few produce quality-assured data. The document urges the Portfolio Committee to question the DEA on its enforcement actions, the legality of 'rolling postponements', and the decline in the number of reporting monitoring stations.

• The Highveld Priority Area (HPA) remains in non-compliance with national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), with PM 2.5, PM10, and ozone (O3) exceeding limits across all five DEA monitoring stations.
• The 2014 decision to grant postponements of minimum emission standards (MES) to Sasol and Eskom has significantly hindered the HPA's ability to meet its air quality goals.
• Evidence suggests that Eskom is likely failing to comply even with the postponed emission standards set out in its atmospheric emission licences (AELs).
• The CER argues that 'rolling postponements' sought by Eskom are illegal and that 'air quality offsets' used as conditions for these postponements lack evidence of positive impact on air quality.
• A mid-term review (MTR) of the HPA air quality management plan (AQMP) found that industrial sources are the primary contributors of SO2 and NOx, while mining is the largest contributor of PM10 emissions.
• South Africa's air quality monitoring network is severely deficient; experts estimate that less than half of the 145 national stations produce data, and only about 20 produce data of adequate quality.
• The DEA's annual performance plan unexpectedly targets a reduction in the number of government-owned monitoring stations reporting to the South Africa Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS) from 115 in 2016/17 to 75 in 2017/18.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ENFORCEMENT OF MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN THE PRIORITY AREAS; THE HIGHVELD REPORT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS; AND AIR QUALITY IN PRIORITY AREAS AND THE STATUS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-Letter-to-PCEA-12-June-2017.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ENFORCEMENT OF MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN THE PRIORITY AREAS; THE HIGHVELD REPORT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS; AND AIR QUALITY IN PRIORITY AREAS AND THE STATUS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-Letter-to-PCEA-12-June-2017.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ENFORCEMENT OF MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN THE PRIORITY AREAS; THE HIGHVELD REPORT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS; AND AIR QUALITY IN PRIORITY AREAS AND THE STATUS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS |date=12 June 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-Letter-to-PCEA-12-June-2017.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017department, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS BRIEFING TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ENFORCEMENT OF MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS IN THE PRIORITY AREAS; THE HIGHVELD REPORT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS; AND AIR QUALITY IN PRIORITY AREAS AND THE STATUS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-Letter-to-PCEA-12-June-2017.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }