NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WASTE AMENDMENT BILL 2013 Briefing

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: WASTE AMENDMENT BILL, 2013 Briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs

BACKGROUND • The National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 regulates waste management in order to protect health and the environment by providing reasonable measures for the prevention of pollution and ecological degradation and for securing ecologically sustainable development. • Some provisions of the NEMWA came into operation in 2009, except for Part 8 in Chapter 4 that is still not yet in operation. • Since 2009, certain implementation challenges with respect to some provisions of the NEMWA were identified.

BACKGROUND • These challenges can be summarised as follows: interpretation of the definitions of “by-product”, “recovery”, “re-use” and “waste”; the processing and approval of the integrated waste management plans and industry waste management plans; and the regulatory gap regarding the amendment of the authorisations issued under the Environment Conservation Act, 1989. • The Bill seeks to address these challenges.

OBJECTIVES OF NEMWA BILL • The National Environmental Management: Waste Amendment Bill, 2013 is to address the processing and approval processes regarding the integrated waste management plans and the industry waste management plans. The Bill further seeks to provides for a legal mechanism to deal with the amendment or variation of certain environmental authorisations issued under the Environment Conservation Act, 1989.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 1: • Revise the definitions of by-product” and “waste” in order to provide legal clarity on what can be regarded as a waste and a by-product, as well as to clarify the “recovery” and “re-use” of waste. • Revision of the definition of “Department” and “Minister” necessitated by configuration of certain Departments and Ministries in government.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 2: • The amendment will ensure that the disposal of animal carcasses are regulated under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008. • Clause 3: • This amendment seeks to clarify that municipal integrated waste management plans must be submitted to the MEC responsible for waste management only for endorsement.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 4: • This amendment seeks to clarify that the national Department is not required to develop an integrated waste management plan, but only the Provincial Departments responsible for waste management and municipalities. • The amendment also clarifies that the provincial integrated waste management plans must be submitted to the Minister for endorsement, and the municipalities must also submit their integrated waste management plans to the MEC for endorsement.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 5: • The amendment seeks to clarify that the annual performance report on the implementation of the provincial department integrated waste management plan must be submitted to the MEC for approval, and to the Minister for noting. • Clause 6: • This amendment will provide for MECs to act in concurrence with the Minister when requesting certain persons to compile industry waste management plans dealing with those activities resulting in the generation waste.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 7: • This amendment seeks to clarify that provincial departments are only required to compile an integrated waste management plan, and not an industry waste management plan. • Clauses 8, 9 & 10: • This is a consequential amendment as a result of the amendment clarifying that the provincial departments are only required to compile an integrated waste management plan.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 11: • Practical implementation of the current industry waste management plans indicates that in future the Minister may have to holistically deal with the different waste streams. • This amendment seeks to provide the Minister with a discretionary power to consider, in the future, establishing a waste management agency to deal with, amongst others, the coordination and implementation of the industry waste management plans in the different waste streams. • The amendment also provides for Minister’s supervisory powers over the Agency.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 12: • This amendment repeals section 78 dealing with appeals. • All appeals under NEMA and any of the specific environmental management Act will be processed in terms of section 43 of NEMA.

NEMWA BILL • Clause 13: • The current provisions of the NEMWA do not provide the licensing authority with a legal mandate to review or amend the authorisation related to waste management issued under the Environment Conservation Act, 1989. • The amendment seeks to provide the licensing authority with a legal mandate to amend those authorisations when requested to do so by authorisation holder.

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