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Chapter 11 - Environmental Law

PROBLEM 1: Making complaints about environmental problems

A. Industrial fumes

A small factory in your neighbourhood is burning something that gives off fumes and clouds of smoke that make you feel ill.

What can you do?

Write a letter to the committee in the municipality that deals with environmental issues, reporting the matter and asking them to investigate.

B. Raw sewage

A sewerage treatment plant regularly overflows and raw sewerage is pumped into a river where children play.

What can you do?

Write a letter of complaint to the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and to the committee in the municipality that deals with water affairs.

C. Local Development

Your municipality is making a decision about a development that will change the environment in the area. You feel certain procedures of NEMA haven't been followed in the planning process and you are afraid that the development will go ahead.

What can you do?

• Approach the full time municipality officials, like the Town Planning Department, and explain your concern. Ask for information about the development and which committees will be deciding the issue.
• Report your concerns and recommendations to the chairperson of the relevant local government committee that is responsible for making decisions regarding development. Ask them for feedback within a specified period of time.
• If the committee does not respond to your recommendations, write a letter of complaint to the council executive committee. Warn them if you believe they did not follow the right procedures or went against NEMA. Tell them you might go to court to challenge their decision.

Wait for the response to your complaint. If it goes against you, think about appealing, or applying for conciliation, and only then going to court to have the decision set aside.

PROBLEM 2: Appealing against government environmental decisions

The government plans to use land in a certain way and you think is going to have a bad effect on the environment.

What can you do?

Write a letter appealing against the decision. In your letter:

• explain your complaint in detail
• say which NEMA environmental principle/s have been violated (See What are the NEMA principles?)
• say which law has been broken and why you think the decision is unreasonable (See Checklist of sectoral laws)

If you are not satisfied with the result of your appeal you can ask the government to appoint a facilitator to have the dispute referred to conciliation.

PROBLEM 3: Complaining to the Director-General

A group of people have been burning large numbers of tyres in an open field in order to sell the steel that is found inside the tyres. Your municipality has been unable to catch them or stop them burning the tyres. The land owner cannot control the tyre burners either.

What can you do?

First complain to the municipality and then the provincial government. If you are not satisfied with the steps taken by the municipality or provincial government, you should write to the Director-General or provincial head of department. You must:

• write a statement of the facts of the complaint
• add copies of all letters of complaint to other government officials and answers received
• add maps, photographs or video evidence, medical evidence of injury, and so on, if you have this

If you make a complaint to the Director-General or provincial head, they must investigate the case and tell the polluter to take reasonable steps to stop the problem by a certain date.

If you are not satisfied with the result of your complaint you can request the government to appoint a facilitator to try to have the disagreement referred to conciliation.

See National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (No 39 of 2004)

PROBLEM 4: Applying for conciliation or arbitration

Government and community deadlock

The government decides to allow a dam to be built that will destroy many villages and natural areas. A study was done on the likely impact on the environment (environmental impact assessment). However, the environmental impact assessment report does not take into account cultural considerations, like the fact that the dam will flood graves and religious sites. The local community is against the dam development because of this. The community and the government cannot resolve their differences.

What can you do?

Write a letter to the minister, member of provincial executive council or municipal council (whichever one is concerned with the dispute), and ask them to refer the dispute to a conciliator or facilitator.

If the parties cannot agree, the conciliator can ask the two parties whether they would like the case to go to arbitration. The arbitrator’s decision will then be final..

PROBLEM 5: Harm to the environment

Employees can refuse to do work that harms the environment

You work for a doctor and your work includes cleaning up and throwing away waste. The doctor always tells you to throw the medical waste in a nearby rubbish dump. You feel this is wrong and one day you tell the doctor why you think it is wrong. The doctor threatens to dismiss you.

What can you do?

You can tell the doctor that NEMA says you cannot be dismissed for refusing to do this.

Reporting activities that harm the environment

You work for a company that grows vegetables. One of your employers is secretly using a banned pesticide on one of the farms in order to grow more vegetables.

What can you do?

You may disclose this information to various persons including: a committee of Parliament or of a provincial legislature, the Public Protector, an attorney-general or the South African Human Rights Commission. NEMA helps to protect you against being victimised for blowing the whistle on your employer, provided that you comply with the provisions of NEMA.