NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: AIR QUALITY BILL

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NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AIR QUALITY
BILL

• A paradigm shift from limited, source-based
  emission control to ambient air quality management

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The need for new air quality management
legislation

• Everyone has a right to air quality that is not
  harmful to health and well-being APPA is not
  effective in protecting this right.
• Everyone has the right to have air quality
  protected through legislative and other measures
  APPAs best practicable means approach does
  not prevent pollution effectively.
• The burden of health impacts associated with
  polluted air falls most heavily on the poor
  APPA does not effectively take land-use into
  account.

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The need for new air quality management
legislation (Cont.)

• Sustainable development requires the integration
  of social, economic and environmental factors in
  the planning, implementation and evaluation of
  decisions to ensure that development serves
  present and future generations APPA does not
  provide for this integrated planning.
• Air pollution carries a high social, economic and
  environmental cost that is seldom borne by the
  polluter APPA is difficult to enforce and
  penalties for non-compliance are low.
• Many South Africans live and work in areas where
  the air is harmful to their health and well-being
  APPA has allowed the development of air
  pollution hotspots.

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The need for new air quality management
legislation (Cont.)

• Economic growth in certain areas of the country
  with high growth potential is being hampered by
  the poor quality of air in these areas APPA has
  allowed the development of air pollution
  hotspots.
• Atmospheric emissions of ozone depleting
  substances, greenhouse gases and other modern
  pollutants have a deleterious effect on the
  environment both locally and globally APPA is
  old and does not recognise these problems.
• Contaminated air cannot be remedied and, thus,
  pollution minimisation is the only sustainable
  means by which air quality can be improved APPA
  provides little incentive for a move to cleaner
  production.

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The need for new air quality management
legislation (Cont.)

• Ambient air quality standards define public air
  that is not harmful to health and well-being
  APPA sets no standards.
• Everyone has a right to
• participate in air quality management
• Access air quality related information and
• Fair administration APPA is non-participatory,
  non-transparent and open to unfair administrative
  practices.
• In Summary, APPA is outdated and not
  constitutional.

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The new approach to air quality management
guidance and constraints

• The Constitution
• Environment falls within the functional area
  listed in Part A of Schedule 4 to the
  Constitution a functional area of cooperative
  national and provincial governance
• Air pollution falls within the functional area
  listed in Part B of Schedule 4 to the
  Constitution a functional area of exclusive
  local governance.
• The Integrated Pollution and Waste Management
  Policy (IPWM, 2000)
• Governments IPWM policy provides a clear
  framework on how air quality must be managed. The
  Bill is fully informed by this policy and, thus,
  the new Bill will provide government with the
  powers and means to implement this policy.

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Chapter 1 Interpretation and fundamental
principles

• Definitions.
• Objectives
• to protect the environment by providing
  reasonable measures for
• (i) the protection and enhancement of the quality
  of air in the Republic
• (ii) the prevention of air pollution and
  ecological degradation and
• (iii) securing ecologically sustainable
  development while promoting justifiable economic
  and social development and
• (b) generally to give effect to section 24 (b) of
  the Constitution in order to enhance the quality
  of ambient air for the sake of securing an
  environment that is not harmful to the health and
  well-being of people.
• General duties of the State.
• Application.
• NEMA.
• Conflicts with other legislation.

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Chapter 2 National Framework and national,
provincial and local standards

• Air quality standards provide the 'backbone' of
  the Bill as, in the case of ambient air quality
  standards, these standards define air quality
  that is not harmful to health and well-being.
• Not only is environmental management through
  standard setting international best practice, it
  is also required by the IPWM policy and is fully
  compatible to a media-based approach.
• So far, the Water Act provides water quality
  objectives, this Bill provides for air quality
  standards, and perhaps a future soil
  contamination and remediation Bill will provide
  soil quality standards the quality of all
  environmental media will be defined for effective
  management.

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Chapter 2 National Framework and national,
provincial and local standards (Cont.)

• Standards will ensure that
• Phrases like significant pollution (NEMA s.28)
  or serious damage (ECA s.31A) will no longer be
  subjective and open to interpretation
• What constitutes air that is not harmful to
  health and well-being (Bill of Rights s.24) will
  be defined
• The goals, objectives, targets and/or milestones
  for all air quality management plans and EMCAs
  will be clearly defined
• The efficacy of all plans, strategies,
  regulations and other air quality related
  interventions can be measured against a defined
  yardstick
• Undesirable processes can be identified and
  outlawed if necessary
• Cleaner production will be encouraged and
• The state of the environment with respect to
  air can be easily measured and reported.

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Chapter 2 National Framework and national,
provincial and local standards (Cont.)

• Part 1 National Framework
• Provides for the establishment of national norms
  and standards for, among others emission
  controls monitoring planning information
  management compliance strategies etc.
• In effect, the national framework will provide
  the road map and implementation manual for
  the rollout of the Bill in ensuring effective air
  quality management.
• Part 2 National, provincial and local standards
• Provides for the prioritization of pollutants and
  the setting of ambient and emission standards for
  these pollutants at national and provincial
  levels and for emission standards at the local
  level.

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Chapter 2 National Framework and national,
provincial and local standards (Cont.)

• Part 3 General
• Provides for the establishment of norms and
  standards in respect of the measurement of actual
  ambient and emission conditions for comparison
  against standards.

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Chapter 3 Institutional and planning matters

• Provides for the establishment of a national
  multi-stakeholder forum on air quality management
  the National Air Quality Advisory Committee.
• Provides the governance focal points in all
  spheres of government the national, provincial
  and municipal air quality officers.
• Provides for the inclusion of air quality
  management plans as components of existing
  planning regimes at national, provincial and
  local levels.
• Details the contents of these plans as well as
  progress reporting.

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Chapter 4 Air Quality Management Measures

• This section of the Bill provides government with
  the tools to ensure progressive compliance with
  ambient air quality standards.
• Part 1 Priority Areas
• This tool takes into account current capacity
  constraints by allowing limited resources to
  concentrate on unacceptable pollution hotspots.
• This tool also provides for the cutting-edge
  air quality management approach known as
  air-shed management.

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Chapter 4 Air Quality Management Measures
(Cont.)

• Part 2 Listing of activities resulting in
  atmospheric emissions.
• As with APPA, this tool provides for command and
  control management of identified polluting
  industries through a licensing regime the
  atmospheric emission license.
• Furthermore, the licensing decision making
  process is directly linked to the environmental
  impact assessment process.
• There is also provision for the setting of
  minimum emission standards for identified
  polluting industries.

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Chapter 4 Air Quality Management Measures
(Cont.)

• Part 3 Controlled Emitters
• This tool provides for the control of classes
  of polluting appliances that would be impractical
  to control through a licensing regimes (e.g.
  motor vehicles).
• Once identified, all controlled emitters must
  conform to specified emission standards.

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Chapter 4 Air Quality Management Measures
(Cont.)

• Part 4 Other Measures
• This section provides for the drafting and
  implementation of pollution prevention plans in
  respect of identified priority pollutants by the
  polluter.
• Provision is made for the submission of
  atmospheric impact reports by specific polluters.
• It also provides for recognition programmes that
  acknowledge best industrial practice.

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Chapter 4 Air Quality Management Measures
(Cont.)

• Part 5 Measures in respect of dust, noise and
  offensive odours
• Provides for prescriptive dust control measures.
• Early warning for mines that are about to close.
• Norms and standards in respect of noise.
• The control of offensive odours.

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Chapter 5 Licensing of listed activities

• The licensing authority (designated through
  Schedule 4B of the Constitution)
• Metros and district municipalities are the
  licensing authorities unless
• They have delegated this function to province in
  terms of s.238 of the Constitution
• Province has intervened in terms of s.139 of the
  Constitution or
• A municipality is the licence applicant.
• This chapter provides detailed direction for
  licence applications, licensing decisions,
  contents of licences, transfers, reviews,
  variations and renewals.

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Chapter 5 Licensing of listed activities (Cont.)

• Provision is also made for processing fees with
  a view to cost recovery.
• Licenses may be very detailed and account for the
  polluter-pays principle in respect of
  monitoring.
• Compliance is encouraged through non-compliance
  penalties.
• Industry focal points may be identified the
  emission control officer.
• Fly by night operators are controlled through a
  fit and proper person review.

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Chapter 6 International air quality management

• This section provides the Minister with the means
  to be a good neighbour.

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Chapter 7 Offences and penalties

• This section provides the teeth of the Bill by
  providing for offences and penalties that can
  serve as a deterrent, encouraging compliance.
• Furthermore, the penalties will ensure that the
  punishment fits the crime by ensuring that a
  judge considers
• The severity of the offence in terms of health,
  well-being, safety and the environment
• The monetary or other benefits derived through
  the commission of the offence and
• The polluters overall contribution to ambient
  pollution.

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Chapter 8 General matters

• Part 1 Regulations
• This section details what regulations may be made
  by the Minister and MECs as well as how these
  regulations are to be made.
• Part 2 Consultative process
• Sections under this part detail both the
  intergovernmental and civil society consultative
  processes that must be adhered to when
• Making regulations
• Developing the national framework
• Setting standards
• Declaring priority areas
• Listing activities and
• Declaring controlled emitters.

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Chapter 8 General matters (Cont.)

• Part 3 Delegations and exemptions
• Sections under this part provide for delegations
  and exemptions from the application of the
  provisions of the Bill.

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Chapter 9 Miscellaneous

• The Bill repeals APPA.
• Notwithstanding the repeal of APPA, the Bill
  provides for a number of transitional
  arrangements, including
• The rollover of APPA Registration Certificates as
  provisional atmospheric emission licences
• The rollover of APPAs scheduled processes as
  interim listed activities and
• The use of APPAs ambient air quality guidelines
  as transitional ambient air quality standards.

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Thank you for your attention