National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Act 30 of 2013

The National Environmental Management Laws Second Amendment Act 30 of 2013 aims:

• to amend the National Environmental Management Act, 1998, so as:
  • to amend certain definitions;
  • to adjust the timeframes for the preparation of environmental implementation plans and environmental management plans; 
  • to provide for the process and procedure for submitting environment outlook reports;
  • to promote or facilitate the mainstreaming of integrated, environmentally sustainable and sound management considerations into business processes, practices, technology and decision-making across the economy;
  • to enable, as appropriate, the use of spatial tools, norms and standards and environmental management instruments in decision-making as an alternative to environmental authorisation procedures;
  • to empower the Minister to restrict or prohibit development in specified geographical areas;
  • to empower the Minister or MEC to develop norms and standards for activities, sectors and geographical areas;
  • to clarify when the Minister is the competent authority;
  • to identify the Minister as the competent authority where the MEC is usually the competent authority and a Cabinet decision stipulates that the Minister must be the competent authority for activities related to a matter declared as a national priority or matters related to such national priority;
  • to empower the Minister to take a decision in the place of the MEC under certain circumstances;
  • to allow for the transfer of rights and obligations relating to an environmental authorisation;
  • to provide legal clarity on the applicability of section 24G to the unlawful commencement, undertaking or conducting of a waste management activity under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008;
  • to provide legal clarity on the options available to the competent authority in processing a section 24G application, to increase the administrative fine and to provide for criminal investigation and prosecution in certain circumstances;
  • to further provide for exemptions under certain circumstances and to clarify that there will be no exemptions provided from obtaining an environmental authorisation;
  • to provide for the consideration of adopted environmental management instruments when considering an environmental authorisation application;
  • to provide for emergency situations and to distinguish between an "incident" and an ''emergency situation'';
  • to provide for the power and the circumstances under which an environmental management inspector may, without a warrant, seize any mechanism of transport;
  • to insert provisions to regulate products which have a detrimental effect on the environment;
  • to provide for all regulations to be tabled in Parliament before promulgation;
  • to add provisions regarding the delivery of documents;
  • to consolidate all offences and penalties under the Act; and
  • to correct or delete certain obsolete provisions; and
• to provide for matters connected therewith.

Commencement

• 18 December 2013, except for Sections 3, 4, 5 and 14
• Sections 3, 4, 5 and 14 on 18 December 2014