4.5 Listing and Licensing of Waste Management Activities

The listing and licensing of waste management activities forms an essential part of the baseline regulatory system for waste management, in conjunction with the system of norms and standards. The listing of an activity establishes either a particular licensing regime, or a set of standards that need to be adhered to.

 

Listed waste management activities are provided in Schedule 1 of the Act, which may be amended by government gazette. A notice of listed activities was issued on 3^rd July 2009, which replaces Schedule 1, and has added new activities, particularly in Category A. Category A lists activities for which a basic assessment is required as part of the waste management license application (as stipulated in the environmental impact assessment regulation made under section 24(5) of NEMA). Category B lists activities for which a full environmental impact assessment is required as part of the waste management license application. Significantly, the listing of these activities has effectively integrated the license application process with the EIA provisions, by delisting the activities from the EIA regulations published in terms of NEMA.

 

It is estimated that there are over 5000 facilities in South Africa that would qualify under the Category A and Category B provisions. While this potentially imposes a large administrative burden on both industry and government, it has been at least temporarily dealt with through a transitional arrangement which does not require new licence applications by current Section 24 permit holders until such time as they are notified to do so by DEA. 

 

The Waste Act also includes a provision for certain categories of listed activities that fall below the thresholds required for licensing to adhere to certain additional standards. DEA has not elected to utilise this provision in the recently published list. It is proposed that the NWMS set out criteria for identifying activities which fall into this second category which is exempted from licensing requirements. Compliance standards for activities that fall below the thresholds for licensing will need to be developed, as well as mechanisms for determining whether the activities are complying with the set standards.

 

Industries that proactively adopt waste management plans and effectively self regulate their sectors will be primary candidates for exemptions from licensing requirements. 

 

The integration of licensing applications with monitoring and reporting systems is a key consideration. Currently waste activity license applicants and license holders have to be listed on three databases: