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The Water Tribunal of South Africa dismissed an appeal by Thungela Operations (Pty) Ltd against the Department of Water and Sanitation's decision to refuse a Water Use Licence (WUL) for the Palmietkuilen Mining Operation. The Tribunal found that the applicant failed to provide sufficient geohydrological and geochemical data to ensure effective long-term mitigation of water pollution, particularly regarding post-closure acid mine drainage (AMD) and the permanent loss of wetlands.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights evaluates water use licence (WUL) compliance among eight large coal mining operations in South Africa's Mpumalanga province. It concludes that the regulatory system has effectively disintegrated, characterized by massive failures by the Department of Water & Sanitation (DWS), non-compliance by mining companies, and misleading reports from independent auditors.

This report, prepared by GCS Water and Environment (Pty) Ltd for the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), reviews the Integrated Water Use License Application (IWULA) and the subsequent Integrated Water Use License (IWUL) issued to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the proposed Yzermyn underground coal mine in Mpumalanga. The review identifies significant gaps in the specialist studies regarding hydrogeology, wetlands, and hydrology, concluding that the IWUL was granted without a sufficient understanding of the environmental impacts or the interconnection between water resources.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) provides critical feedback on the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) draft Mine Water Management Policy Position. The CER argues that the draft understates the crisis of mine water management in South Africa, citing a systemic failure in mine closures and a lack of compliance monitoring and enforcement. The CER recommends that the DWS utilize existing legislative tools—specifically the National Water Act (NWA), the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA)—to enforce the 'polluter pays' principle and secure financial provisions for water treatment before granting licenses.

The National Strategy for Water re-use, published by GreenCape in June 2011, outlines a framework for implementing water re-use projects in South Africa to address the country's water-stressed status. It defines various types of re-use, analyzes drivers such as cost and public perception, and identifies sector-specific needs in agriculture, industry, mining, and power generation. The strategy proposes a policy environment focused on clear guidelines, updated water quality standards, and the leveraging of private sector capacity to ensure sustainable water resource management.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting on behalf of a coalition of 34 non-government and civil society organisations, issued a letter to the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Acid Mine Drainage demanding a response to a previous inquiry and the publication of an expert team's report regarding the release of toxic acid mine drainage into watercourses.

A letter dated 25 January 2011 from a coalition of civil society organisations and individuals to the co-chairs of the Inter Ministerial Committee on Acid Mine Drainage (IMC), demanding transparency and urgent action to stop the release of untreated acid mine drainage (AMD) into South African water systems.

This case study examines a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling regarding the interpretation of Section 19 of the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA). The court determined that the legal obligation to take 'reasonable measures' to prevent pollution is not limited to a person's own land but can extend to land owned, controlled, or used by others.

This document consists of a series of legal submissions, correspondence, and technical reports related to an appeal against the granting of a mining right to William Patrick Bower (Pty) Ltd (WPB) for a coal mine near Belfast, Mpumalanga. The materials include a hydrogeochemical study on acid mine drainage (AMD) and decant management, a responding statement from BirdLife South Africa (represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights), and an internal appeal from the Escarpment Environment Protection Group (EEPOG). The central disputes concern procedural unfairness in the consultation process, the inadequacy of environmental impact assessments—specifically regarding biodiversity and water quality—and the lack of a sustainable mine closure plan.

This document consists of several annexures related to two proposed coal mining projects in Mpumalanga, South Africa: the Lusthof Colliery and the WPB Colliery. The first part is a draft report from 2012 by Dr. Hugo van Zyl for Black Gold Coal Estates (BGCE) regarding the financial provisioning for a Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Lusthof Colliery, estimating a required provision of approximately R74.42 million to cover construction and 100 years of post-closure operation. The second part contains correspondence and reviews from 2013 to 2015 regarding the WPB Colliery, featuring objections from BirdLife South Africa and technical reviews by Golder Associates. These reviews highlight 'fatal flaws' in the WPB Colliery's water use license application, specifically the lack of adequate acid mine drainage (AMD) assessment, insufficient public participation, and flawed geochemical modelling for pollution mitigation.

This document is a draft written reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question (Question 737) posed by Mr N J J van R Koornhof of the COPE party in March 2011. The inquiry focuses on the contamination of the Vaal River's upper catchment due to coal mining and the risk of acid mine drainage from abandoned mines.

This document is a draft written reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question (No. 2976) asked by Mrs H N Ndude regarding departmental directives and compliance for mines concerning acid mine drainage (AMD).

This document is a draft written reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question (Question 1816) asked by Mr G R Morgan (DA) regarding acid mine drainage (AMD) on the West Rand.

A draft reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question regarding the status of acid mine drainage responses in the western, central, and eastern basins.

This document is a decision by the Water Tribunal regarding an appeal by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, and Mpumalanga Landbou/Agriculture against a Water Use License (WUL) granted to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the Yzermyn underground coal mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The appeal focuses on the potential environmental impacts of the mine, specifically the dewatering of mine shafts, the risk of contaminated water decanting post-closure, and the mine's location within a Strategic Water Source Area (SWSA).

This document contains the Appellants' Heads of Argument filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment. The appeal, brought under section 149 of the National Water Act (NWA), challenges a Water Tribunal decision that dismissed an appeal against the granting of a water use licence (WUL) to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine. The appellants argue that the Water Tribunal erred on several questions of law, including the failure to consider the strategic importance of the mine area, the absence of landowner consent, the misapplication of the precautionary principle, the lack of post-closure water treatment provisions, and the misapprehension of the burden of proof regarding socio-economic impacts.

This case study examines the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision in KEBBLE v MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS (2007), where the court overturned a contempt of court order against the former directors of Stilfontein Gold Mining Company (SGM). The court ruled that the directives issued by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry regarding the pumping and treatment of underground water in the KOSH basin were too vague and unenforceable to justify criminal sanctions for contempt.

This case study analyzes the 1997 legal dispute LASCON PROPERTIES (PTY) LTD v WADEVILLE INVESTMENT CO (PTY) LTD & ANOTHER, which addressed liability for damages caused by the release of acidic mine water in breach of statutory regulations.

A letter from a coalition of civil society organisations to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs requesting intervention to compel the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Acid Mine Drainage (IMC) to release the Team of Experts' (TOE) report.

This report, prepared by GCS (Pty) Ltd for the Centre for Environmental Rights, reviews the water use license application (IWULA) and specialist studies for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine in Mpumalanga. The review identifies significant gaps in hydrogeological and wetland assessments, arguing that the mine poses a substantial risk to sensitive water resources and that the current groundwater models are of low confidence and insufficient for decision-making.