South Africa’s core legislation on waste licensing is the National Environmental Management Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) (NEMWA). According to the NEMWA, no person may commence, undertake, or conduct a waste management activity listed in this schedule unless a license is issued in respect of that activity. Additionally, an integrated environmental authorization process has been established with the NEMA and NEMWA which means that if both NEMA listed activities and NEMWA waste management activities are triggered, an integrated EIA process must be followed.
NEMWA lists several waste activities in three separate lists. Category A activities requires Basic Assessment process and Category B listed activities requires a full scoping and EIA process. These activities include, but are not limited to,
•Waste Storage
•Processing of waste e.g., sorting, shredding, grinding and bailing,
•Re-use and recycling,
•Recovery of waste, incl. refining, utilisation and co-processing,
•Treatment,
•Disposal to land.
*Category C listed activities do not need a licence, however, it must conform to certain practices and standards listed.
If you trigger a listed activity, you will be required to apply for a Waste Management Licence. – The assessment will ensure that the facility does not negatively impact the environment. Furthermore, an Environmental Assessment Practitioner is required to conduct the assessment. The process will take between 8 and 14 months to complete. The maximum fine of not applying for a WML is R10 000 000 and / or 10 Years imprisonment.
Steps to be followed:
| BASIC ASSESSMENT AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENSE | ||
| Process | Steps | Timeframes |
| SCREENING PROCESS | Step 1: Submission of enquiry form and/or pre-application meeting with the competent authority (CA) | Weeks 1 – 2 (Dependent on availability |
| SPECIALIST STUDIES | Step 2: In accordance with the requirements laid out by the competent authority – specialists will be appointed to undertake the required studies | Allow 6 – 8 weeks for completion |
| PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – PHASE 1 | Step 3: Commence with the Public Participation Process (this includes the notification of I&APs, adjacent neighbours, placement of signboards, advertisements, BID) | Allocate 21 days for I&APs to register |
| INTEGRATION AND ASSESSMENT | Step 4: Compilation of the draft basic assessment report (BAR) and the draft EMPr. | 2 weeks – if information is received timeously |
| PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – PHASE 2 | Step 5: Submission of the Draft Basic Assessment Report for commenting period | Allocate 30 days for I&APs to comment |
| FINALISATION | Step 6: Collation of comments and responses and finalisation of draft reports | 1 – 2 weeks (provided no major changes) |
| ADMINISTRATION AND SUBMISSION | Step 7: Submission of Final Basic Assessment Report to the competent authority (CA) | Allow 14 days for acknowledgement |
| ACCEPTANCE/ REJECTION AND APPEALS | Step 8: Issuing of the environmental authorization Step 9: Notification of I&APs of decision Step 10: Handling of appeals | CA has 107 days to accept/reject the final BAR. Appeals may take up to 3 months. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENSE | ||
| Process | Steps | Timeframes |
| SITE VISIT AND BASELINE ASSESSMENT | Step 1: Undertake a site visit with the clientto determine the baseline conditions of the site. Undertake a brief baseline screening using GIS Systems. | First Week of appointment (Dependent on availability) |
| PRE-APPLICATION PROCESS | Step 2: Submission of enquiry form and/or pre-application meeting with the competent authority (CA) | 1 week (Dependent on availability) |
| PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – PHASE 1 | Step 3: Commence with the Public Participation Process (this includes the notification of I&APs, adjacent neighbours, placement of signboards, advertisements, BID) | Allocate 21 days for I&APs to register |
| SPECIALIST STUDIES | Step 4: In accordance with the requirements laid out by the competent authority – specialists will be appointed to undertake the required studies | Allow 6 – 8 weeks for completion |
| SCOPING PHASE 1 | Step 5: Compilation of the draft scoping report including the baseline assessment undertaken in step 1 | 2 weeks – if information is received timeously |
| ADMINISTRATION | Step 6: Submission of application forms to the competent authority (CA) | Allow 2 weeks for acceptance. |
| PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PHASE 2 | Step 7: Submission of the Scoping Report for commenting period | Allocate 30 days for I&APs to comment |
| SCOPING PHASE 2 | Step 8: Finalisation of scoping report inclusive of comments received. Step 9: Submission of final scoping report to the competent authority (CA) | The CA has 43 days to accept or reject the Scoping Report. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTING AND ASSESSMENT | Step 10: compilation of the draft environmental impact report (EIR) and draft environmental management Programme (EMPr) | 2 weeks – if information is received timeously |
| PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PHASE 3 | Step 11: Submission of the draft environmental impact report (EIR) and draft environmental management Programme (EMPr) for commenting period | Allocate 30 days for I&APs to comment |
| FINALISATION | Step 12: Collation of comments and responses and finalisation of draft reports. | 1 – 2 weeks (provided no major changes) |
| ADMINISTRATION AND SUBMISSION | Step 13: Submission of Final EIR and EMPr to the competent authority (CA) | Allow 14 days for acknowledgement |
| ACCEPTANCE/ REJECTION AND APPEALS | Step 14: Issuing of the environmental authorization Step 15: Issuing of the mining permit Step 16: Notification of I&APs of decision Step 17: Handling of appeals | CA has 107 days to accept/reject the final BAR. Appeals may take up to 3 months. |
| LICENSE / RIGHT | Step 18: Submission of application to relevant authority for the approval of licenses / rights. | May take up to 3 months. |