ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS, 2014

The Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014, establish the legal procedures and criteria for preparing, submitting, and deciding upon applications for environmental authorisations in South Africa. The regulations detail two primary assessment paths—Basic Assessment and Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR)—and mandate the appointment of independent environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs) to manage the process. They also set strict timeframes for government decisions, requirements for public participation, and protocols for the auditing and amendment of environmental management programmes (EMPr) and closure plans.

• The regulations define two distinct assessment processes for environmental authorisation: a Basic Assessment and a Scoping and Environmental Impact Reporting (S&EIR) process. The EAP must determine which process applies based on notices published under section 24D of the Act, applicable guidelines, and advice from the competent authority.
• Proponents are required to appoint an independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) at their own cost to manage the application. Independence is defined as having no business, financial, or personal interest in the activity that could compromise objectivity.
• The regulations establish specific timeframes for the application process: the competent authority must acknowledge receipt of applications within 10 days, and State departments must provide comments within 30 days. Public participation processes must be conducted for at least 30 days.
• Environmental authorisations must include specific conditions, including a commencement period that cannot exceed 10 years and cannot be extended beyond that limit without following the formal amendment process.
• Compliance with the environmental authorisation and the Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) must be audited by an independent person. The frequency of these audits cannot exceed intervals of five years.
• Public participation is mandatory and must include notice via notice boards at the site boundary, written notice to occupiers and adjacent landowners, and advertisements in local and sometimes provincial or national newspapers.
• The regulations provide for the suspension or withdrawal of an environmental authorisation if the competent authority believes it was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation of material facts, or non-disclosure of material information.
• Failure to meet prescribed timeframes results in the application lapsing, unless an extension has been granted by the competent authority.
• Specific requirements are set for the content of Basic Assessment Reports, Scoping Reports, and Environmental Impact Assessment Reports, including the need for a 21-digit Surveyor General code for each cadastral land parcel to describe the location.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2014). ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS, 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Regulations-2014.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS, 2014. 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Regulations-2014.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS, 2014 |date=4 December 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Regulations-2014.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2014environmental, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS, 2014}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/EIA-Regulations-2014.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }