SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION ON THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING PRIORITY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted recommendations to the South African government to strengthen draft regulations for air quality management plans. Following a High Court ruling that poor air quality in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) violates constitutional rights, the CER advocates for stricter enforcement, including a moratorium on new coal infrastructure, biennial plan reviews, bi-annual public reporting, and the mandatory adoption of 2020 minimum emission standards by 2025.

• The High Court of South Africa ruled on 18 March 2022 that the poor air quality in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) constitutes a breach of residents' section 24(a) constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being.
• The High Court found that failure to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) is a prima facie violation of the right to a healthy environment and interferes with other constitutional rights, including the right to dignity, bodily integrity, life, and the interests of children.
• The CER recommends that the proposed implementation regulations include a moratorium on new coal-fired power stations, coal mines, or large-scale industrial facilities in priority areas where NAAQS are being exceeded.
• The CER proposes that all facilities in priority areas must comply with 2020 new plant minimum emission standards without exception; otherwise, they must present plans for decommissioning and repurposing by 2025, with decommissioning completed by 2030.
• The CER argues that the proposed five-year review cycle for emission reduction and management plans is inadequate and should be reduced to a biennial (every two years) review to incorporate evolving cleaner technologies.
• The CER recommends that reporting on the implementation of emission reduction interventions and management plans be increased from yearly to bi-annually (every six months) and that these reports be made public.
• The CER identifies 14 specific facilities in the HPA—including 12 Eskom coal power stations, Sasol’s coal to liquids facility, and the Natref refinery—as being responsible for the majority of air pollution in the area.
• The CER requests that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment explicitly identify several national departments as duty-bound stakeholders in the regulations, including Mineral Resources and Energy, Health, Public Enterprises, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Transport, and Agriculture.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2022). SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION ON THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING PRIORITY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CER-Submissions-on-the-Proposed-Priority-Area-Implementation-Regulations-2022.9.5.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION ON THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING PRIORITY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004. 2022. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CER-Submissions-on-the-Proposed-Priority-Area-Implementation-Regulations-2022.9.5.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION ON THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING PRIORITY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004 |date=5 September 2022 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CER-Submissions-on-the-Proposed-Priority-Area-Implementation-Regulations-2022.9.5.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2022supplementary, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{SUPPLEMENTARY SUBMISSION ON THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING PRIORITY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY ACT, 2004}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CER-Submissions-on-the-Proposed-Priority-Area-Implementation-Regulations-2022.9.5.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }