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APPELLANTS’ HEADS OF ARGUMENT IN THE APPEAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 149 OF THE NATIONAL WATER ACT NO. 36 OF 1998
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.
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Document type: Report
applicants-notice-ito-rule-16a-04cc8aab01466fe1.pdf
This document is a legal notice filed in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria) in August 2017. It outlines the grounds upon which several applicants, including Mining and Environmental Justice and GroundWork, seek the review and setting aside of decisions made by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and the Minister of Mineral Resources to allow Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd to conduct commercial mining in the Mabola Protected Environment.
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Document type: Statement
arnot-ael_april-2015-b7b67fb18afa1b35.pdf
This document consists of a formal letter and a variation of the Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) issued by the Nkangala District Municipality to Eskom Holdings SOC Limited for the Arnot Power Station. The letter, dated 20 April 2015, addresses Eskom's request to correct errors in the AEL, while the attached licence specifies the operational conditions, emission limits, and reporting requirements for the power station's activities.
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Document type: Report
b-confirmatory-affidavit-thomas-mnguni-complete-1f7d4f6a6cca4356.pdf
This document is a confirmatory affidavit signed by Thomas Mnguni, a Community Campaigner for the non-profit organisation groundWork, in support of a legal matter involving environmental justice movements and various South African government ministers and officials.
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Document type: Statement
camden-ael_april-2015-f45e0519cc504d2d.pdf
This document is an Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) issued on 31 March 2015 by the Gert Sibande District Municipality to Eskom Holdings SOC Limited for the Camden Power Station. The licence, issued under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, regulates emissions from solid fuel combustion, petroleum storage, and coal handling, establishing specific operational requirements, emission limits, and monitoring obligations for a period not exceeding five years.
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Document type: Statement
Mining and your Community: Know your Environmental Rights
This guide, produced by the Centre for Environmental Rights and Lawyers for Human Rights, provides information for communities and individuals in South Africa on their environmental and legal rights when facing proposed mining activities. It details the mandatory government permissions, consultation processes, and legal avenues available to affected parties to protect their land, water, and health.
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Document type: Guide
PUBLIC HEARINGS OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE DISCUSSION DOCUMENT, OUTLINING SOUTH AFRICA’S POSITION TOWARDS THE 21ST SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP21) TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC) IN PARIS, FRANCE, IN DECEMBER 2015.
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a statement to the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs in September 2015 regarding South Africa's position for COP21. The CER argues that climate change mitigation is a Constitutional obligation under section 24, and that current state decisions to build new coal-fired power stations directly contradict these legal duties and national climate policies.
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Document type: Statement
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
compliance-affidavit_nm-951a756eac6447b7.pdf
This document is a Directive Compliance Affidavit filed by Nabeelah Mia, an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights, in the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Division, Pretoria. The affidavit confirms compliance with the Judge President’s Consolidated Practice Directive dated 18 September 2020 regarding Case No: 11761/2021, specifically verifying that no duplicate files were created on the CaseLines Management System and listing the parties invited to the system.
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Document type: Statement
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
Scanned Document
A decision letter from the South African Department of Mineral Resources to the Centre for Environmental Rights regarding a request for access to information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000.
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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
doc-1.1-a-sub-brd-ses-26-august-2016_air-quality-improvement-plan-9cff4a85f745e71b.pdf
This briefing document, submitted to Eskom's Board Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee on 26 August 2016, outlines the Air Quality Improvement Plan. The plan aims to reduce particulate and gaseous emissions from power stations to comply with South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) and Atmospheric Emission Licences, utilizing a combination of technical retrofits, operational improvements, and air quality offsets.
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Document type: Briefing
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
Mark_Botha_AffidavitCase5077917.pdf
This document is an affidavit by Mark Adrian Botha, an independent environmental services professional, submitted to the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria) in Case No: 50779/17. Botha provides his professional qualifications and confirms the accuracy of specific allegations made in a founding affidavit by Thelma Thandekile Nkosi.
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Document type: Statement
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
GROUNDWORK’S REPLYING SUBMISSIONS
This document contains replying submissions filed by groundWork (the Appellant) on 24 May 2019 in an appeal before the Nkangala District Municipality Appeal Authority. The appeal challenges the transfer of a 2015 Provisional Atmospheric Emission Licence (PAEL) to ACWA Power Khanyisa Thermal Power Station (RF) (Pty) Limited (ACWA). groundWork argues that the transfer was unlawful due to procedural defects, a failure to consider relevant environmental and health evidence, the unauthorized material variation of the licence's physical scope, and the provision of misleading information regarding the project's capacity.
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Document type: Briefing
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
joint-cer-lac-submissions-on-nemlab_18-july-2012-7c50b551ffe4190f.pdf
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) provided joint submissions on 18 July 2012 regarding the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill, 2012. The document offers a detailed critique of proposed amendments to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the Biodiversity Act, and the Air Quality Act, focusing on environmental governance, criminal liability, and the rights of traditional communities.
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Document type: Statement