Compliance monitoring is a continuous process used to ensure that conditions stipulated in an environmental authorisation are adhered to. Compliance monitoring is a key component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and EIA follow-up. The aim of this research was to critically assess EIA follow-up conditions formulated for Environmental Authorisations in Mpumalanga Province. The practicability of conditions set out in the authorisation for EIA follow-up are of particular concern. Forty-two (42) environmental authorisations (EAs) issued under the 2010 NEMA EIA regulations were reviewed and assessed to analyse information relating to follow-up practice. In order to synthesise the data effectively and create a comprehensive analysis, the EAs were divided into project type categories rather than listed activity categories. The assessment results on the strengths and weaknesses related to compliance monitoring and enforcement of the authorisation conditions revealed that the EIA follow-up conditions in Mpumalanga do make provision of EIA follow-up. The EAs fulfils the requirements of regulation 37 of the NEMA EIA regulations 2010 by promoting compliance monitoring of impacts. However, some conditions raises difficulty in monitoring due to their impracticability. Another weakness is that conditions focus mainly on the construction phase and very little attention is paid to operational and decommissioning impacts. The analyses results show that the practicability of the authorised conditions for environmental compliance monitoring had the following challenges: conditions intended to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts are generic and do not apply to specific projects or activities being authorised and there are no clearly defined timeframes for conditions requiring repetitive monitoring. Moreover, the study revealed gaps in monitoring of the authorised conditions that included poor clarity of roles of environmental control officers (ECOs) and auditors and a lack of reference to sections to be complied with pertaining to other relevant legislation. The critical assessment of the EIA follow-up conditions formulated for Environmental Authorisations in Mpumalanga Province indicate that the formulation of conditions have implications in ensuring that compliance is effectively implemented. Clearly defined conditions will ensure proper interpretation and correct implementation for compliance purposes. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Compliance monitoring is a continuous process used to ensure that conditions stipulated in an environmental authorisation are adhered to. Compliance monitoring is a key component of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and EIA follow-up. The aim of this research was to critically assess EIA follow-up conditions formulated for Environmental Authorisations in Mpumalanga Province. The practicability of conditions set out in the authorisation for EIA follow-up are of particular concern. Forty-two (42) environmental authorisations (EAs) issued under the 2010 NEMA EIA regulations were reviewed and assessed to analyse information relating to follow-up practice. In order to synthesise the data effectively and create a comprehensive analysis, the EAs were divided into project type categories rather than listed activity categories. The assessment results on the strengths and weaknesses related to compliance monitoring and enforcement of the authorisation conditions revealed that the EIA follow-up conditions in Mpumalanga do make provision of EIA follow-up. The EAs fulfils the requirements of regulation 37 of the NEMA EIA regulations 2010 by promoting compliance monitoring of impacts. However, some conditions raises difficulty in monitoring due to their impracticability. Another weakness is that conditions focus mainly on the construction phase and very little attention is paid to operational and decommissioning impacts. The analyses results show that the practicability of the authorised conditions for environmental compliance monitoring had the following challenges: conditions intended to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts are generic and do not apply to specific projects or activities being authorised and there are no clearly defined timeframes for conditions requiring repetitive monitoring. Moreover, the study revealed gaps in monitoring of the authorised conditions that included poor clarity of roles of environmental control officers (ECOs) and auditors and a lack of reference to sections to be complied with pertaining to other relevant legislation. The critical assessment of the EIA follow-up conditions formulated for Environmental Authorisations in Mpumalanga Province indicate that the formulation of conditions have implications in ensuring that compliance is effectively implemented. Clearly defined conditions will ensure proper interpretation and correct implementation for compliance purposes. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The main legislation governing environmental authorisation in South Africa is the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 (NEMA). This legislation is administered by the environmental affairs departments at national, provincial and local spheres of government. Besides NEMA, there are other pieces of legislation which govern environmental authorisation and, in some instances, are administered by other organs of state. They, like NEMA, require submission of reports to authorities for decision-making. This may result in cumbersome and duplication of processes; which in turn, may delay the initiation of development activities. NEMA provides for co-operative governance, coordination of activities and alignment of processes to counter the above problems. Section 24L states that activities regulated in another law may be regarded as sufficient for authorisation in terms of NEMA, and vice versa. Furthermore, section 24K provides for consultation and coordination of legislative requirements to avoid duplication. Flowing from these provisions is that competent authorities may exercise their powers by issuing separate or integrated authorisations. All these provisions aim to promote smooth and seamless interactions between all key role-players involved in authorisation processes. However, there are widespread concerns amongst key role-players and the public at large about the lack of application and/or implementation of the foregoing legislative provisions. This study investigates these concerns through a literature review, case study analysis and administration of a questionnaire. The results show that the fruits of these provisions (i.e. coordinated activities, aligned processes and/or integrated authorisations) in the province of KwaZulu-Natal have yet to be realised. This study recommends, therefore, that clear guidance be provided to provinces on how to implement the legislative provisions described above. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The main legislation governing environmental authorisation in South Africa is the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 (NEMA). This legislation is administered by the environmental affairs departments at national, provincial and local spheres of government. Besides NEMA, there are other pieces of legislation which govern environmental authorisation and, in some instances, are administered by other organs of state. They, like NEMA, require submission of reports to authorities for decision-making. This may result in cumbersome and duplication of processes; which in turn, may delay the initiation of development activities. NEMA provides for co-operative governance, coordination of activities and alignment of processes to counter the above problems. Section 24L states that activities regulated in another law may be regarded as sufficient for authorisation in terms of NEMA, and vice versa. Furthermore, section 24K provides for consultation and coordination of legislative requirements to avoid duplication. Flowing from these provisions is that competent authorities may exercise their powers by issuing separate or integrated authorisations. All these provisions aim to promote smooth and seamless interactions between all key role-players involved in authorisation processes. However, there are widespread concerns amongst key role-players and the public at large about the lack of application and/or implementation of the foregoing legislative provisions. This study investigates these concerns through a literature review, case study analysis and administration of a questionnaire. The results show that the fruits of these provisions (i.e. coordinated activities, aligned processes and/or integrated authorisations) in the province of KwaZulu-Natal have yet to be realised. This study recommends, therefore, that clear guidance be provided to provinces on how to implement the legislative provisions described above. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is recognised worldwide as a tool for identifying the potential adverse effects of a proposed development on the environment. Very little attention has been given to determining the actual environmental effects resulting from a development. The need for EIA follow–up (i.e. monitoring, auditing, evaluation, management and communication) was identified and would form the building blocks within the EIA process. Follow–up provides information about the consequences of an activity and presents opportunities to implement adequate mitigation measures. EIA follow–up is not developed to its full potential even though the need for it is acknowledged and supported in legislation, scientific journals and scientific books. EIA follow–up necessitates feedback in the EIA process to ensure lessons learnt and outcomes from past experiences can be applied in future actions. Follow–up is only a legal requirement if conditions are specified in the environmental authorisation (EA). Of particular concern to follow–up is the accuracy of prediction and secondly, the level of compliance to conditions set out in the authorization and management plans. This study will focus primarily on critically analysing predictions and compliance from the construction phase of a high profile mega shopping mall project, namely the Mooi River Mall (MRM), with an analysis to gauge the actual effect and contribution of the EIA process to decision making and implementation practices. Multiple data sources were used to determine the accuracy of predictions and legal compliance level of the Mooi River Mall. The Mooi River Mall's accuracy of predictions (66%) and legal compliance (83%) suggest that some of the impacts were unavoidable; that mitigation measures were either not implemented or identified or that EIA follow–up served its purpose in the form of implementing effective auditing programmes to monitor legal compliance. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is recognised worldwide as a tool for identifying the potential adverse effects of a proposed development on the environment. Very little attention has been given to determining the actual environmental effects resulting from a development. The need for EIA follow–up (i.e. monitoring, auditing, evaluation, management and communication) was identified and would form the building blocks within the EIA process. Follow–up provides information about the consequences of an activity and presents opportunities to implement adequate mitigation measures. EIA follow–up is not developed to its full potential even though the need for it is acknowledged and supported in legislation, scientific journals and scientific books. EIA follow–up necessitates feedback in the EIA process to ensure lessons learnt and outcomes from past experiences can be applied in future actions. Follow–up is only a legal requirement if conditions are specified in the environmental authorisation (EA). Of particular concern to follow–up is the accuracy of prediction and secondly, the level of compliance to conditions set out in the authorization and management plans. This study will focus primarily on critically analysing predictions and compliance from the construction phase of a high profile mega shopping mall project, namely the Mooi River Mall (MRM), with an analysis to gauge the actual effect and contribution of the EIA process to decision making and implementation practices. Multiple data sources were used to determine the accuracy of predictions and legal compliance level of the Mooi River Mall. The Mooi River Mall's accuracy of predictions (66%) and legal compliance (83%) suggest that some of the impacts were unavoidable; that mitigation measures were either not implemented or identified or that EIA follow–up served its purpose in the form of implementing effective auditing programmes to monitor legal compliance. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations through the application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impact assessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited research has been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelines on the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewed against the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) and departmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations are deemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) and scoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it is concluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactory rating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations through the application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impact assessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited research has been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelines on the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewed against the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) and departmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations are deemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) and scoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it is concluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactory rating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Magister Legum - LLM

Magister Legum - LLM / This study provides an overview of the development of environmental assessment legislation in South Africa since the advent of democracy and critically assesses whether an effective regulatory system is in place. Where necessary and appropriate, the study may include aspects of foreign and international law. This study also aims to provide an overview of the law as it stands by highlighting both the good and bad elements of the law in relation to EIAs and IEMs. It is furthermore aimed at exposing potential grey areas in the law and proposing possible recommendations for improvement