GROUNDWORK TRUST V THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS (CASE NO. 61561/17) ACWA POWER KHANYISA ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION

A letter from the Office of the State Attorney in Pretoria to the Centre for Environmental Rights and Fasken Martineau stating that the Environmental Authorisation for the ACWA Power Khanyisa project lapsed on 31 October 2018 due to non-compliance with specific conditions.

• The Office of the State Attorney asserts that ACWA Power Khanyisa failed to comply with two peremptory conditions of its Environmental Authorisation (EA) before starting listed activities: Condition 27, requiring a Water Use Licence from the Department of Water Affairs if wetlands or water resources were impacted, and Condition 39.2, which prohibited construction until the Director: Licensing approved the amended design for the Khanyisa Coal Power Station as specified in a 11 June 2013 letter from the Department of Water Affairs Engineer.
• The State Attorney concludes that ACWA's commencement of listed activities was unlawful because it did not meet the peremptory conditions of the EA. Consequently, this unlawful start did not stop the EA from lapsing, and the Environmental Authorisation officially lapsed on 31 October 2018.
• The lapsing of the Environmental Authorisation on 31 October 2018 is stated to render the pending review application in the case of Groundwork Trust v The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Others (Case No. 61561/17) moot.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). GROUNDWORK TRUST V THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS (CASE NO. 61561/17) ACWA POWER KHANYISA ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Correspondence-from-State-Attorney-notifying-the-Applicants-of-the-expiry-of-Khanyisas-Environmental-Authorisation.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. GROUNDWORK TRUST V THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS (CASE NO. 61561/17) ACWA POWER KHANYISA ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Correspondence-from-State-Attorney-notifying-the-Applicants-of-the-expiry-of-Khanyisas-Environmental-Authorisation.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=GROUNDWORK TRUST V THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS (CASE NO. 61561/17) ACWA POWER KHANYISA ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION |date=20 September 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Correspondence-from-State-Attorney-notifying-the-Applicants-of-the-expiry-of-Khanyisas-Environmental-Authorisation.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019groundwork, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{GROUNDWORK TRUST V THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS (CASE NO. 61561/17) ACWA POWER KHANYISA ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Correspondence-from-State-Attorney-notifying-the-Applicants-of-the-expiry-of-Khanyisas-Environmental-Authorisation.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }