The Regulation of Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa: Law and Governance Perspectives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2014/v17i5a2158Keywords:
Acid mine drainage, environment, mining, environmental law, environmental governance, water pollution, environmental right, sustainable development, Constitution, National Water Act, National Environmental Management Act, National Environmental ManagemenAbstract
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is arguably one of the most serious environmental concerns in South Africa. AMD is a legacy left behind by abandoned, derelict and defunct mines, and is a continuing by-product of existing mining activities. In addition to its environmental impacts, AMD will also impact on all the parameters of sustainability, including ecological, social and economic concerns. In particular, AMD is set to affect infrastructure, displace people and affect their livelihoods, influence economic activity, impact on the resource extraction industry, and affect South Africa's policies and actions in relation to climate change and its efforts to move towards a low carbon economy; and it will test the efficiency of regulatory interventions emanating from both the private and the public sector to the extreme. Given these pervasive challenges, in this article we provide a survey of the AMD problem in South Africa through the law and governance lens. We commence by highlighting the various issues and challenges that result from AMD in the environmental context on the one hand, and the law and governance context on the other hand. We then describe the many provisions of the regulatory framework that we believe would be instrumental in responding to the threat. We conclude the article with brief remarks on what we believe are important considerations in the future regulation of AMD.
Downloads
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Literature
Burns and Kidd "Administrative Law"
Burns Y and Kidd M "Administrative Law and Implementation of Environmental Law" in Strydom HA and King ND (eds) Fuggle and Rabie's Environmental Management in South Africa 2nd ed (Juta Cape Town 2009) 243-257
Coetzee, Winde and Wade Assessment of Sources
Coetzee H, Winde F and Wade PW An Assessment of Sources, Pathways, Mechanisms and Risks of Current and Potential Future Pollution of Water and Sediments in Gold-mining Areas of the Wonderfonteinspruit Catchment (Water Research Commission Pretoria 2006)
Day "Rivers and Wetlands"
Day JA "Rivers and Wetlands" in Strydom HA and King ND (eds) Fuggle and Rabie's Environmental Management in South Africa 2nd ed (Juta Cape Town 2009) 842-867
DEAT State of Environment Report
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism State of Environment Report (The Department Pretoria 2006)
De Nicola and Stapleton 2002 Environmental Pollution
De Nicola D and Stapleton M "Impact of Acid Mine Drainage on Benthic Communities in Streams: The Relative Roles of Substratum vs. Aqueous Effects" 2002 Environmental Pollution 303-315
Du Plessis and Kotzé 2007 Stell LR
Du Plessis W and Kotzé LJ "Absolving Historical Polluters from Liability through Restrictive Judicial Interpretation: Some Thoughts on Bareki No v Gencor Ltd" 2007 Stell LR 161-193
Durand, Meeuvis and Fourie 2010 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
Durand J, Meeuvis J and Fourie M "The Threat of Mine Effluent to the UNESCO Status of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site" 2010 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa 73-92
DWA National Water Resource Strategy
Department of Water Affairs National Water Resources Strategy 2nd ed (The Department Pretoria 2013)
DWAF Management of the Water Resources
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Management of the Water Resources of the Republic of South Africa (The Department Pretoria 1986)
DWAF National Water Resources Strategy
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry National Water Resources Strategy (The Department Pretoria 2004)
DWAF White Paper
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry White Paper on a National Water Policy for South Africa (The Department Pretoria 1997)
Expert Team AMD Report
Expert Team of the Inter-Ministerial Committee under the Coordination of the Council for Geoscience Report to the Inter-ministerial Committee on Acid Mine Drainage: Mine Water Management in the Witwatersrand Goldfields with Special Emphasis on Acid Mine Drainage (The Committee Pretoria 2010)
Feris "Human Rights and Locus Standi"
Feris L "Human Rights and Locus Standi" in Kotzé L and Paterson A Compliance and Enforcement in Environmental Law (Juta Cape Town 2009) 129-151
Feris 2012 Law, Environment and Development
Feris L "The Public Trust Doctrine and Liability for Historic Water Pollution in South Africa" 2012 Law, Environment and Development 1-22
French International Law
French D International Law and Policy of Sustainable Development (Juris Manchester 2005)
Garland 2012 Quest
Garland R "Acid Mine Drainage: Can it Affect Human Health?" 2012 7(4) Quest 46-47
Gerhardt, Janssens de Bistohoven and Soares 2004 Environmental Pollution
Gerhardt A, Janssens de Bisthoven L and Soares AMVM "Macroinvertebrate Response to Acid Mine Drainage: Community Metrics and On-line Behavioural Toxicity Bioassay" 2004 Environmental Pollution 263-274
Government of the RSA Background Information and Discussion Document
Government of the Republic of South Africa Background Information and Discussion Document to Facilitate the Climate Change Policy Engagement (GCIS Pretoria 2010)
Hobbs Parliamentary Briefing Paper
Hobbs P Parliamentary Briefing Paper on Acid Mine Drainage: Annexure 'B' of CSIR Report No. CSIR/NRE/WR/IR/2008/0079/C (CSIR Pretoria 2008)
Humby 2007 SAJELP
Humby T "Letting Polluters Off the Hook? The Impact of Bareki no v Gencor Ltd 2006 (1) SA 432 (T) on the Reach of s 28 of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998" 2007 SAJELP 105-123
Humby 2013 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law
Humby T "The Spectre of Perpetuity Liability for Treating Acid Water on South Africa's Goldfields: Decision in Harmony II" 2013 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law 453-466
Johnson and Hallberg 2005 Science of the Total Environment
Johnson D and Hallberg K "Acid Mine Drainage Options: A Review" 2005 Science of the Total Environment 3-14
Kidd "Criminal Measures"
Kidd M "Criminal Measures" in Paterson A and Kotzé LJ Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in South Africa: Legal Perspectives (Juta Cape Town 2009) 240-265
King, Maree and Muir "Freshwater Systems"
King NA, Maree G and Muir A "Freshwater Systems" in Strydom HA and King ND (eds) Fuggle and Rabie's Environmental Management in South Africa 2nd ed (Juta Cape Town 2009) 425-454
Kleinman Acid Mine Drainage
Kleinman R Acid Mine Drainage: US Bureau of Mines Researches Control Methods for Coal and Metal Mines (US Bureau of Mines Washington DC 1989)
Kotzé 2007 SAPL
Kotzé LJ "Revisiting the South African Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Regime: A Critical Survey of Recent Developments" 2007 SAPL 34-60
Kotzé "Environmental Governance"
Kotzé LJ "Environmental Governance" in Paterson AR and Kotzé LJ (eds) Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in South Africa: Legal Perspectives (Juta Cape Town 2009) 103-125
Kotzé 2010 JHRE
Kotzé LJ "Phiri, the Plight of the Poor and the Perils of Climate Change: Time to Rethink Environmental and Socio-economic Rights in South Africa?" 2010 JHRE 135-160
Kotzé et al 2007 SAJELP
Kotzé LJ et al "Strategies to Integrate Environmental Policy at the Operational Level: Towards an Integrated Framework for Environmental Authorisations" 2007 SAJELP 57-81
Kotzé and Bates 2012 U Denv Water L Rev
Kotzé LJ and Bates R "Similar but Different: Comparative Perspectives on Access to Water in Australia and South Africa" 2012 U Denv Water L Rev 221-274
Kotzé and Lubbe 2009 SAJELP
Kotzé LJ and Lubbe N "How (Not) to Silence a Spring: The Stilfontein Saga in Three Parts" 2009 SAJELP 49-77
Kysar Regulating from Nowhere
Kysar D Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental Law and the Search for Objectivity (Yale University Press Yale 2010)
McCarthy 2011 SAJS
McCarthy TS "The Impact of Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa" 2011 107(5/6) SAJS 1-7
Mine Water Research Group Desktop Assessment
Mine Water Research Group, North-West University Desktop Assessment of the Risk for Basement Structures of Buildings of Standard Bank and ABSA in Central Johannesburg to be affected by Rising Mine Water Levels in the Central Basin [confidential report on file with the authors]
Nealer 2009 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
Nealer E "Municipal Governance and Environmental Crises: Threats and Thoughts" 2009 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa 73-85
Nel and Wessels 2010 PELJ
Nel J and Wessels J "How to Use Voluntary, Self-Regulatory and Alternative Environmental Compliance Tools: Some Lessons Learnt" 2010 PELJ 48-79
Oberholster et al 2012 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Oberholster P et al "Bioaccumulation of Aluminium and Iron in the Food Chain of Lake Loskop, South Africa" 2012 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 134-141
Pinetown and Boer Quantitative Evaluation of the Modal Distribution
Pinetown K and Boer R A Quantitative Evaluation of the Modal Distribution of Minerals in Coal Deposits in the Highveld Area and the Associated Impact on the Generation of Acid and Neutral Mine Drainage (Water Research Commission Pretoria 2006)
Ryan 2001 Environmental Law
Ryan E "Public Trust and Distrust: The Theoretical Implications of the Public Trust Doctrine for Natural Resource Management" 2001 Environmental Law 477-499
Tempelhoff and Winde "Acid Mine Drainage"
Tempelhoff J and Winde F "Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa: Policy, Economic Issues and Public Concerns" in Katko P, Juuti P and Schwartz K (eds) Water Services Management and Governance: Past Lessons for a Sustainable Future (IWA London 2013) 77-88
Turton 2009 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
Turton A "The Role of Science in Deepening Democracy: The Case for Water in Post-Apartheid South Africa" 2009 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa 9-28
UN Commission on Sustainable Development "Paper No 3"
UN Commission on Sustainable Development "Paper No 3" in the Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Identification of Principles of International Law for Sustainable Development (26-28 September 1995 Geneva)
Van der Schyff 2010 PELJ
Van der Schyff E "Unpacking the Public Trust Doctrine: A Journey into Foreign Territory" 2010 PELJ 122-159
Van der Schyff 2013 SALJ
Van der Schyff E "Stewardship Doctrines of Public Trust: Has the Eagle of Public Trust Landed on South African Soil?" 2013 SALJ 369-389
Van der Schyff and Viljoen 2008 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa
Van der Schyff E and Viljoen G "Water and the Public Trust Doctrine: The South African Perspective" 2008 Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa 339-353
Van Reenen 1997 SAJELP
Van Reenen TP "Constitutional Protection of the Environment: Fundamental (Human) Right or Principle of State Policy?" 1997 SAJELP 270-273
Van Vuuren 2010 Water Wheel
Van Vuuren L "AMD: Local Solutions for Local Challenges" 2010 Sep/Oct The Water Wheel 28-30
Young 2011 International Journal of the Commons
Young OR "Land Use, Environmental Change, and Sustainable Development: The Role of Institutional Diagnostics" 2011 International Journal of the Commons 66-85
Case law
Bareki v Gencor Ltd 2006 1 SA 432 (T)
Director: Mineral Development, Gauteng v Save the Vaal Environment 1999 2 SA 719 (SCA)
Federation for Sustainable Environment v Minister of Water Affairs 2012 ZAGPPHC 128 (10 July 2012)
Federation for Sustainable Environment v Minister of Water Affairs 2012 ZAGPPHC 170 (15 August 2012)
Fuel Retailers Association of Southern Africa v Director-General: Environmental Management, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Mpumalanga Province 2007 6 SA 4 (CC)
Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd v Regional Director: Free State, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 2006 SCA 65
Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd v Regional Director: Free State Department of Water Affairs 2012 ZAGPPHC 127 (29 June 2012)
Hichange Investments (Pty) Ltd v Cape Produce Company (Pty) Ltd t/a Pelts Products 2004 2 SA 393 (E)
Kebble v Minister of Water Affairs 2007 SCA 111
Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town 2012 4 SA 181 (CC)
McCarthy v Constantia Property Owners' Association 1999 4 SA 847 (C)
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry v Stilfontein Gold Mining Co Ltd 2006 5 SA 333 (W)
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry v Stilfontein Gold Mining Company Limited 2006 ZAGPHC 47 (15 May 2006)
Legislation
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, 1776
Land Use Planning Ordinance 15 of 1985
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Act 49 of 2008
National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA)
National Environmental Management Amendment Act 62 of 2008
National Environmental Management Amendment Act 14 of 2009
National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008
National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA)
Water Services Act 108 of 1997 (WSA)
International instruments
Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987)
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992)
Government publications
GN R 704 in GG 20119 of 4 June 1999 (Regulations in terms of section 26 of the National Water Act on the Use of Water for Mining and Related Activities aimed at the Protection of Water Resources)
GN 779 in GG 32368 of 9 July 2009
GN 331 in GG Gazette 37603 of 2 May 2014 (National Norms and Standards for the Remediation of Contaminated Land and Soil Quality in the Republic of South Africa)
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill [B15-2013]
Internet sources
Anon 2011 http://mg.co.za/specialreport/acid-mine-drainage
Anon 2011 Special Report: Acid Mine Drainage http://mg.co.za/specialreport/acid-mine-drainage accessed 18 May 2014
Botha, Botha and Genthe 2012 http://researchspace.csir.co.za/
dspace/handle/10204/6258
Botha S, Botha A and Genthe B 2012 An In-vitro Assessment of the Genotoxic Impacts of Acid Mine Drainage in the Human MCF7 Cell Line http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/6258 accessed 8 May 2014
Department of Economic Development 2011 http://www.info.gov.za/view/Download
FileAction?id=159756
Department of Economic Development 2011 Green Economy Accord Signed at COP17 Durban http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=159756 accessed 5 May 2013
Funke, Nienaber and Gioia 2012 http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/
handle/10204/5841
Funke N, Nienaber S and Gioia C 2012 An Interest Group at Work: Environmental Activism and the Case of Acid Mine Drainage on Johannesburg's West Rand http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/
handle/10204/5841 accessed 8 May 2014
Government of the RSA 2011 http://www.environment.gov.za/PolLeg/WhitePapers/
national_climatechange_response_whitepaper.pdf
Government of the Republic of South Africa 2011 National Climate Change Response White Paper http://www.environment.gov.za/PolLeg/WhitePapers/
national_climatechange_response_whitepaper.pdf accessed 15 May 2013
INAP date unknown http://www.inap.com.au/
International Network for Acid Prevention date unknown INAP: Addressing a Global Need http://www.inap.com.au/ accessed 8 May 2014
Jennings, Neuman and Blicker 2008 http://www.pebblescience.org/pdfs/Final_
Lit_Review_AMD.pdf
Jennings SR, Neuman DR and Blicker PS 2008 Acid Mine Drainage and Effects on Fish Health and Ecology: A Review http://www.pebblescience.org/pdfs/Final_Lit_Review_AMD.pdf accessed 8 May 2014
Manders, Godfrey and Hobbs 2009 http://www.csir.co.za/nre/docs/Briefing
Note2009_2_AMD_draft.pdf
Manders P, Godfrey L and Hobbs P 2009 Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa: Briefing Note 2009/02 http://www.csir.co.za/nre/docs/BriefingNote2009
_2_AMD_draft.pdf accessed 21 October 2011
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs 2011 http://www.bench-marks.org.za/publications/mines_operating_without_water_use_licenses.pdf
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs 2011 National Assembly: Question 3327 for Written Reply http://www.bench-marks.org.za/publications/mines_operating_without_water_use_licenses.pdf accessed 19 May 2013
South African Treasury 2013 http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/national%20
budget/2013/review/FullReview.pdf
South African Treasury 2013 Budget Review 2013 http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/national%20budget/2013/review/FullReview.pdf accessed 19 May 2013
Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority 2008 http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20081024-department-trans-caledon-tunnel-authority-water-research-commission-a
Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority 2008 Department, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and Water Research Commission: Annual Report, Presentations and Implementation Review of National Water Act http://www.pmg.org.za/
report/20081024-department-trans-caledon-tunnel-authority-water-research-commission-a accessed 3 December 2013
Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority 2011 http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20110907-department-water-and-environmental-affairs-briefing-acid-mine-drainag
Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority 2011 Acid Mine Drainage Progress Reports: Department, Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority, and Mintek http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20110907-department-water-and-environ
mental-affairs-briefing-acid-mine-drainag accessed 3 December 2013
WWF 2012 http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/summary_mining_report_8aug.
pdf World Wildlife Fund 2012 Financial Provisions for Rehabilitation and Closure in South African Mining: Discussion Document on Challenges and Recommended Improvements http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/
summary_mining_report_8aug.pdf accessed 19 May 2013
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Loretta Feris, Louis J Kotze
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}