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Yes we provide discounts if more than one site and suite combination is selected.
We provide corporate licenses for larger organisations. There is no limit on the amount of users.
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The newsletter is published every 3 months and contains all the real important changes in Environmental and Health & Safety legislation since the previous newsletter, as well as interesting industry news and facts.
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Is it prescribed by law to have a legal register?
Although a bit more complicated, the answer to this question is no, legislation does not prescribe that companies should have legal register.
However, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 does require that a company must have access to all legislation relevant to its activities, and that is usually where something like a legal register comes in.
Also, the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that a copy of the Act be available to all employees, but not a legal register per se.
How can a company achieve ISO 14001 accreditation?
Several steps must be taken before an organisation can be accredited as ISO 14001 compliant. Firstly, it needs to design a specialised Environmental Management System. This can only be successfully achieved if the required managerial capacity to steer the process is available. The EMS must comply with the detailed requirements in the ISO 14001 Code of Practice before it is introduced.
As a specialised management system it will have to be integrated with other specialised management systems to ensure that the organisation has an effective overall general management system. In order to test the system, management should execute internal compliance audits. Once the EMS is functioning smoothly, arrangements can be made to have an environmental audit undertaken.
The environmental auditor should be an independent auditor authorised to grant ISO 14001 accreditation and preferably be accredited on an international level by a recognised international accreditation body rather than on national level only. If the audit reveals that the organisation meets all the necessary requirements it can be accredited formally.
What exactly is environmental law?
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of statutes, common law, treaties, conventions, regulations and policies which, very broadly, operate to regulate the interaction of humanity and the rest of the biophysical or natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing or minimizing the impacts of human activity, both on the natural environment for its own sake, and on humanity itself. Environmental law draws from and is influenced by principles of environmentalism, including ecology, conservation, stewardship, responsibility and sustainability. From an economic perspective it can be understood as concerned with the prevention of present and future externalities.
When does an activity “commence” according to NEMAA?
Commence means the start of any physical activity, including site preparation and any other activity on the site in furtherance of a listed activity or specified activity, but does not include any activity required for the purposes of an investigation or feasibility study as long as such investigation or feasibility study does not constitute a listed activity or specified activity.
What is the difference between an Environmental Management Plan and Environmental Management Programme?
The EM Plan refers to the reports that have to be submitted by government departments annually and thereafter every 4 years. The EM Programme refers to the management plans related to EIA and Mining.
Which department authorises listed activities (EIA’s) on mining areas; DM or DWEA?
The definitions of the respective ministers of DM and DWEA indicate that all environmental related authorisations on mining areas are under the authority of DM. The NEMA sec 24 listed activities have to be amended to reflect exactly who the responsible authority for every listed activity is.
Does the NEMA 24G rectification process apply to “specific environmental acts”?
The current wording only refers to rectification of listed activities as per NEMA sec 24. NOT for Waste Act or Air Quality Act activities etc.
Is anything except an application needed for a prospecting or mining right?
A prospecting right will only be granted after an environmental authorisation has been issued. Application for the right and environmental authorisation has to be submitted at the same time.
What is the maximum area over which a mining permit may be granted?
A mining permit may only be issued if the mining area does not exceed 5 hectares.
Does the NEM: Waste Act apply to mining areas?
Residue stockpiles and deposits are specifically excluded from the Act. The definitions of the residue stockpile/deposits also include beneficiation waste. Beneficiation waste is further defined in the amendment Act to include all beneficiation related waste. All waste downstream from the minerals winning and processing is included in the definition and therefore the Waste Act does not apply. It would however apply to general waste, office waste, clinic waste and workshop waste (essentially the support services – there is some disagreement whether these waste streams should also be excluded as it could be included in the definition of “incidental to a mining operation”, depending on how far you stretch that definition). It would also apply to waste disposal facilities previously authorised under sec 20 of the ECA.
Can more than 1 listed activity be included under one license in terms of NEM:AQA?
More than 1 activity may be included under the same license application but separate applications have to be done for different sites. One application has to be done for each separate site.
Under what typical situations will one be eligible to ask for exemption from licensing under the Waste Act?
Note that you can be exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Waste Act but you cannot be exempted from getting a license for a listed activity in terms of the Waste Act.
The Environmental Conservation Act requires licensing for general and small waste disposal sites are these provisions still in working or does the Waste Act replace it?
The NEM: Waste Act have thresholds to determine on whether you activity requires a license or not. Thus you must check the quantity of waste handled or the size of the waste management facility (disposal site). Please note that ECA has been repealed. Thus we no longer consider any provision in terms of ECA for the waste disposal management.
Can EIA’s and waste licenses be done under the same application?
In terms of the WA you are not supposed to do EIA and a license separate. That is why the procedures used for application of waste license are those in Government Notice No. R 385 (EIA Regulations). To answer your question, waste license encompass both waste permit and EIA Authorization.
Who must register according to the Waste Tyre Regulations?
All tyre producers and waste tyre stockpile owners.
How can a waste tyre stockpile be registered?
No information is given in the Regulations on the procedure to be followed for persons wishing to start waste tyre stockpiles after commencement of these Regulations; DWEA has confirmed the reason for this is to phase out waste tyre stockpiles.
What is the difference between the active list of waste management activities and the new list that is still in draft format?
The Draft document intends to replace the existing list of waste management activities. The activities remain similar but the thresholds change. The changes are aimed at clarifying certain activities and definitions and also to reduce the amount of activities that will require a waste management license. The results of the changes are that organisations will require less waste management licenses as the thresholds are more relaxed.
Do you provide Health Safety and Environmental legal registers for other African countries?
Yes, we are proud to announce that we have coverage of all the SADC countries, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique.
We will be expanding the offering continuously to where ever industrial and mining development takes place in Africa.
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