The Listed Activities and Minimum Emission Standards Project is being run by the Department of Environment Affairs and
Tourism (DEAT) with the aim
of publishing by the end of 2007 a draft
list of activities for which emission licenses will be required.
This list will be accompanied by minimum national emission standards
and monitoring protocols for the listed activities.
Rationale
Sections 21 and 22 of National Environmental Management: Air Quality
Act read as follows:
Section 21: Listing of activities
(1) The Minister must, or the MEC may, by notice in the Gazette
-
(a) publish a list of activities which result in atmospheric emissions
and which the Minister or MEC reasonably believes have or many have
significant detrimental effect on the environment, including health,
social conditions, economic conditions, ecological conditions or
cultural heritage, and
(b) when necessary, amend the list by-
(i) adding to the list activities in addition to those contemplated
in paragraph (a);
(ii) removing activities from the list; or
(iii) making other changes to particulars in the list.
(2) A list published by the Minister applies nationally
and a list published by the MEC applies to the relevant province only.
(3) A notice referred to in subsection (1) -
(a) must establish minimum emission standards in respect of a
substance or mixture of substances resulting from a listed activity
and
identified in the notice, including-
(i) the permissible amount, volume, emission rate
or concentration of that substance or mixture of substances that
may be emitted, and
(ii) the manner in which measurements of much
emissions must be carried out;
(b) may certain transitional and other special arrangements in
respect of activities which are carried out at the time of their
listing; and
(c) must determine the date on the notice takes effect.
4. (a) Before publishing a notice in terms of subsection
(1) or any amendment to the notice, the Minister or MEC must follow
a consultative process
in accordance with sections 56 and 57.
(b) Paragraph (a) need not
be complied with if the notice is amended in non–substantive way.
Section 22: Consequences of listing
No person may without a provisional atmospheric emission
licence or an atmospheric emission licence conduct any activity
-
(a) listed on the national list anywhere in the Republic; or
(b) listed on the list applicable in the province anywhere in
that province.
These sections of the AQA make the publication of a
list of activities, together with emission limits for these activities
and the method by which emissions shall be tested
mandatory on at
least the Minister.
Objectives of this project:
The objectives of this project are :
- To produce proposed regulations in terms of S21 consisting
of a list of activities for which emission licenses will in future
be required, minimum national emission standards for such activities,
and measurement protocols by which conformance to such emission
standards will be established,
- To provide adequate opportunity for public input and comment
during the drafting of the list and standards
- To provide the Department of Environmental Affairs and Toursim
with the implementation plans for the proposed regulations and
the mechanisms to update the list at regular intervals.
In addition, the National Framework must include national norms
and standards for:
- The control of emissions from point and non-point sources
- Air quality monitoring
- Air quality management planning
- Air quality information management and
- Any other matter which the Minister considers necessary for
achieving the object of this Act.
Various documents providing more information on this project are
linked to this page. These are a background information document
and a full terms of reference for the project. As the project proceeds,
these links will be updated to include the outputs from the project.
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