5.7.2 National government

The main capacity challenges for the Department of Environmental Affairs are in the following areas:

5.7.2(1)
Norms and standards: Capacity is required to develop both discretionary and mandatory norms and standards.  Specialist capacity will be built within the Department to develop and process standards, as these are a critical element of achieving the objectives of the Act. A dedicated unit including technical experts such as process and chemical engineers and legal drafters will be established.

5.7.2(2)
Licensing: The Department requires capacity to process licenses for activities where the Minister is the licensing authority. The most critical function to be performed is the environmental impact assessments, and review of the work conducted by external experts. The full assessment procedure specified for Category B license applications is a technically demanding process that already requires the appointment of an independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP). Currently, an effort is underway to set standards for EAPs and a Certification Board for Environmental Assessment Practitioners in South Africa has been established. The Board’s certification criteria include both academic qualifications and professional experience and take into account ethics and values.

5.7.2(3)
Contaminated Land and Remediation: This is one of the most significant new areas of regulation in terms of the Waste Act. It requires that a register of contaminated lands be established, with accompanying provisions to remediate, and it is retroactive in that it applies to land that was contaminated prior to the promulgation of the Act, or which experiences contamination now as a result of activities that took place prior to the Act’s promulgation. A new division is required with technical capacity to administer the system as described in Section 2.7 of the strategy.

5.7.2(4)
Waste management measures in relation to industry: The Act provides several waste management measures directed at industry, which includes norms and standards, industry waste management plans, Extended Producer Responsibility, and declaration of priority wastes. Capacity is required at national level to develop a sound understanding of industry waste management, and develop working relations with industry players, as this is critical to achieving the consensual, co-regulatory approach to waste management activities.

5.7.2(5)
Information management: The Department is the custodian of waste and waste management information, and a dedicated capacity for ensuring that appropriate information is collected, analysed and disseminated to support decision-making is required.