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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JULY
2017
32
HOUSING
On 13 April 2017, a draft notice
identifying excluded activities within
two geographically defined zones was
published for public comment. The
notice provides for mandatory standards
according to which the excluded
activities can be undertaken without prior
environmental authorisation. Should the
notice come into force, it will fast-track
non-polluting urban development in pre-
identified areas within Gauteng.
Developers rightly bemoan the
inflexibility of the environmental
authorisation application process. Where
a development triggers any of the listed
activities published under NEMA, the
proponent of the development is required
to obtain prior environmental authorisation.
The application process may take 197
days for a basic assessment (activities
having less significant impact) and 300
days for scoping and environmental impact
assessment (for activities having more
significant impact).
Brownfields developments, residential,
and commercial developments usually
have little material environmental
impact, and those impacts attributable
to dust and stormwater emissions, and
waste management can
be managed through compliance with
general standards. However, the inflexible
process currently in force does not allow
for exemption from prior environmental
authorisation where a listed activity is
triggered. This leads to unnecessary time
and costs spent on obtaining environmental
authorisation as a check-box exercise.
The proposed exclusion of developments
triggering certain listed activities within pre-
determined geographic zones will address
this issue.
These exclusions include the
development of bulk liquid transportation
pipelines and electricity transmission and
distribution infrastructure; the clearance
of land for developments associated with
various land uses (ie retail, residential,
industrial, and commercial); and develop-
ments requiring the storage and handling
of dangerous goods such as retail fuel
stations. Exclusions will only apply in
respect of Zones 1 and 5 (as indicated in
the Framework).
• Zone 1, known as the Urban Development
Zone, comprises those areas of Gauteng
where streamlining of urban development
activities is necessary to promote
infill development, densification, and
concentration.
• Zone 5, known as the Industrial and
Commercial Focus Zones, comprises
those areas of Gauteng where
streamlining of non-polluting
industrial and large-scale
commercial activities
is required.
This will result in significant time and cost
savings for affected projects, and will open
up Zones 1 and 5 as preferred development
areas within the Gauteng province. The
exclusions will not apply to developments
extending outside the boundary of Zones 1
or 5, or to any activity that is directly related
to prospecting and mining.
While the exclusions will do away with
the need to obtain prior environmental
authorisation, it does not completely
de-regulate affected developments.
Proponents of affected developments
would need to apply to register the
developments with the Gauteng Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development.
When requesting registration, a developer
must undertake to comply with the
prescribed environmental management
standards. These standards operate as a
non-negotiable environmental management
programme for affected developments, and
relate to environmental management issues
such as the protection of air quality, storm
water management, hazardous substances
management, and the protection of water
resources and biodiversity. Developers will
be obliged to design, construct and operate
affected developments in compliance with
the minimum prescribed standards.
The notice, should it come into force,
will be a welcome relief to developers
looking to reduce development costs in the
current economic climate.
Gauteng to roll out the
GREEN CARPET
for
urban development
By Matthew Thornton-Dibb | Associate and Environmental lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright
Development in Gauteng is co-ordinated around its Environmental
Management Framework, 2014. The Framework is a strategic
document designed to guide sustainable land use management within
the province. Its function is to identify geographical areas where certain
development activities can be excluded from the environmental impact
assessment and the prior environmental authorisation process provided
for in the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA).