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This document is a decision by the Director of Appeals and Legal Review within the South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries regarding a request for condonation for the late filing of an appeal. The appeal concerns a decision to grant ArcelorMittal South Africa a suspension from complying with Minimum Emission Standards (MES) at its facility in Vanderbijlpark.

This document consists of an internal appeal filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) on behalf of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) and the subsequent ruling by the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The appeal challenged the Municipality's refusal to grant access to Atmospheric Emission Licences (AELs) and compliance reports for the SAPREF (Shell and BP) and Engen petroleum refineries, which the Municipality had withheld citing the protection of third-party commercial information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). The Appeal Authority ultimately upheld the refusal, ruling that the information was commercially sensitive and that the public interest override was not sufficiently substantiated.