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DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER
This guide by the Centre for Environmental Rights outlines the critical importance of South Africa's 22 water source areas (WSAs), which provide 50% of the country's surface run-off despite covering only 8% of the land. The document details the threats facing these areas—including mining, agriculture, and climate change—and proposes a 'legal toolbox' of statutory mechanisms to protect these essential ecological infrastructures.
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Document type: Guide
Health impacts of Eskomʼs non-compliance with minimum emissions standards
This report analyzes the public health and economic consequences of Eskom's failure to comply with South Africa's Minimum Emissions Standards (MES). It compares various compliance scenarios, concluding that Eskom's current retrofit plan provides minimal health benefits due to a failure to address sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, and that full compliance or the adoption of Best Available Technology (BAT) would significantly reduce premature deaths and economic losses.
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Document type: Report
deadly-air_tl-confirmatory-affidavit_signed-3226d6b6aaa2811b.pdf
This document is a confirmatory affidavit signed by Timothy Hendrie Lloyd, an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), in support of a legal matter involving GroundWork Trust and the Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action against various South African government officials regarding environmental affairs and air quality.
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Document type: Statement
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT AT MINES: THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY’S PERFORMANCE DURING THE FINANCIAL YEARS 2017 TO 31 MARCH 2019
This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) evaluates the environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement (CME) performance of the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years. Based on information obtained via the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), the CER concludes that the DMRE's capacity to monitor and enforce environmental laws at mines remains "woefully inadequate," citing a severe shortage of qualified inspectors and a general decline in inspection activity across most provinces.
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Document type: Report
MANUAL ISSUED IN TERMS OF SECTION 14 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000 (ACT NO 2 OF 2000)
This document is a PAIA Manual issued by the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). It provides a comprehensive guide for the public on how to exercise their constitutional right of access to information held by the Department, in accordance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
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Document type: Guide
MANUAL ISSUED IN TERMS OF SECTION 14 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000 (ACT NO 2 OF 2000)
This document is a PAIA Manual issued by the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). It serves as a guide for the public to exercise their constitutional right of access to information held by the Department, detailing the types of records available, the process for requesting them, and the protections afforded to personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
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Document type: Guide
fa72-report-prepared-by-sasol-infrachem-dated-april-2014-96a1d5f3cba39bb0.pdf
This April 2014 report is a draft motivation by Sasol Infrachem for exemption from the default application of certain Minimum Emissions Standards (MES) published in Government Notice No. 893 (GN 893) under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEMAQA). Sasol Infrachem argues that strict compliance with certain existing and new plant standards is technically or financially unachievable for specific point sources at its Sasolburg complex. The document proposes alternative emissions limits as license conditions and provides an Atmospheric Impact Report (AIR) to demonstrate that these alternatives maintain ambient air quality within National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
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Document type: Report
KMBT_754-20201120142850
The Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) submitted this supporting affidavit to the High Court of South Africa to be admitted as an amicus curiae in a case involving a water use licence for a proposed coal mine. The EELC argues that the second respondent's attempt to seek punitive costs against public interest lawyers creates a "chilling effect" that discourages the representation of marginalised actors and threatens access to justice.
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Document type: Statement
GNR 164 of 2 March 2018 GPEMF Standard.pdf
The GPEMF Standard (GNR 164, 2018) allows certain listed activities in Gauteng's Zone 1 (Urban Development) and Zone 5 (Industrial and Commercial Focus) to proceed without a full environmental authorisation, provided the proponent registers the development, complies with specific environmental management specifications, and ensures the project remains entirely within the designated zones.
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Document type: Guide
impact-assessment-implementation-regulations-794d4b2c1ded80a0.pdf
This 2019 Phase 1 Initial Impact Assessment, produced by the Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) for the South African Presidency's Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS), evaluates the need for regulations to enforce Air Quality Management Plans (AQMPs) in three priority areas. The document identifies a failure to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) due to ineffective AQMP implementation and a lack of accountability for non-industrial stakeholders.
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Document type: Report
MASHALA – FERREIRA MINE, ERMELO
This case study examines the legal and environmental disputes surrounding the Ferreira mine (also known as the Penumbra mine), operated by Mashala Resources (Pty) Ltd in Ermelo, Mpumalanga. The document details allegations of illegal mining, failure to obtain necessary water and environmental licenses, and the provision of misleading information in regulatory applications, alongside conflicts over land access and compensation for adjacent landowners.
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Document type: Case study
matimba-health-risk-assessment_6-e4803f6ab69f5bcb.pdf
This report reviews risk factors to quantify the potential health impacts of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from various Eskom operations. It synthesizes global epidemiological data from organizations like the WHO and USEPA to establish risk estimates for mortality and morbidity, while incorporating South African provincial population and health data to support a health risk assessment.
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Document type: Report
matimba-health-risk-assessment_8-64d754a8a3e40115.pdf
This report, prepared by INFOTOX (Pty) Ltd for Eskom Holdings, evaluates the confidence levels and uncertainties associated with the health risk assessment of particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from Eskom operations. It concludes that risk quantifications based on mortality and particulate matter are more reliable than those based on hospitalisation and gaseous pollutants.
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Document type: Report
National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2007-8
The National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2007-8 details the activities of Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) in South Africa from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. It reports a significant increase in arrests and convictions compared to the previous year, though it notes that these figures are partly due to previous underreporting. The report covers national and provincial statistics, specific industrial non-compliance findings in the steel and refinery sectors, wildlife crime enforcement, and judicial training initiatives.
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Document type: Report
nersa-answering-affidavit-b5061a0888ac88ee.pdf
This document is an answering affidavit filed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) in the High Court of South Africa. NERSA opposes an application by the City of Cape Town, which seeks to allow Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to generate and sell electricity without a section 34 determination from the Minister of Energy, or alternatively, to have section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) declared unconstitutional.
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Document type: Statement
00206BBA2C25181108084438
A Remediation Order issued by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited for the cleanup of contaminated land at its Vanderbijlpark Works.
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Document type: Statement
RESPONDENT’S HEADS OF ARGUMENT
This document contains the Respondent's Heads of Argument filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The case concerns an appeal by ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA) against a High Court judgment that ordered AMSA to provide VEJA with environmental records—specifically an Environmental Master Plan for its Vanderbijlpark site and records regarding the closure and rehabilitation of its Vaal Disposal site in Vereeniging—under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA).
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Document type: Briefing
STOP TREADING WATER: WHAT CIVIL SOCIETY CAN DO TO GET WATER GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA BACK ON TRACK
This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) identifies systemic failures in South Africa's water governance and provides a strategic framework for civil society to intervene. It highlights critical gaps in the implementation of the National Water Act (NWA), the failure to roll out catchment management institutions, and severe capacity constraints within the Department of Water Affairs (DWA). The document recommends a combination of legal advocacy, institutional reform, and the introduction of administrative penalties to improve compliance and ensure the progressive realisation of constitutional rights to water.
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Document type: Report
third-applicant-amicus-curiae-supporting-confirmatory-affidavit-66e32f2b8c73fecc.pdf
This document is a supporting affidavit submitted by Umunyana Rugege, Executive Director of SECTION27, to the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division). SECTION27 seeks admission as the third amicus curiae in a legal matter involving the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Department of Water and Sanitation, and Atha-Africa Ventures. The affidavit argues that the second respondent's attempts to discredit the appellants' attorneys (CER) are similar to past government attempts to disparage public interest NGOs, and it highlights SECTION27's history of successful litigation to demonstrate the positive impact of such organisations on South African constitutional jurisprudence.
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Document type: Statement
zo-41-9f1d004e7669e639.pdf
This guide outlines the criteria and risk assessments for mining activities within high-importance biodiversity priority areas. It establishes a rigorous set of filters and a risk-averse approach to determine if mining is an optimal land use compared to the preservation of critical ecosystems and water resources.
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Document type: Guide