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Full Disclosure

The Truth about Corporate Environmental Compliance in South Africa

Centre for Environmental Rights - Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

Cement

Licences and authorisations required for operation

Licence Activity Applicable Legislation
Atmospheric Emission Licence Cement production activities including:
  1. the preparation of raw materials, production and cooling of Portland cement clinker;1 grinding and blending of clinker to produce finished cement; and packaging of finished cement; or
  2. the production and cooling of Portland cement clinker; grinding and blending of clinker to produce finished cement where alternative fuels and/or resources are used.
 List of activities which result in atmospheric emissions which have or may have a significant detrimental effect on the environment2 and accordingly require an Atmospheric Emission Licence before commencement (GN 893): Category 5, Sub-categories 5.4 and 5.5.
Water Use Licence Taking water from a water resource.3 National Water Act: Section 21(a).
Water Use Licence Storing water.4 National Water Act: Section 21(b).
Water Use Licence Discharging waste or water containing waste into a water resource through a pipe, canal, sewer, sea outfall or other conduit.5 National Water Act: Section 21(g).
Water Use Licence Disposing in any manner of water which contains waste from, or which has been heated in, any industrial or power generation process.6 National Water Act: Section 21(h).
Waste Management Licence Recovery7 of waste including the refining, utilisation, or co-processing of waste in excess of 10 tons but less than 100 tons of general waste per day or in excess of 500 kilogram but less than 1 ton of hazardous waste per day, excluding recovering that takes place as an integral part of an internal manufacturing process within the same premises. List of waste management activities that have, or are likely to have, a detrimental effect on the environment8 and accordingly require a Waste Management Licence (GN 921): Category A 3(5) (or Category B 4(3) where the recovery of waste is in excess of 100 tons of general waste per day or in excess of 1 ton of hazardous waste per day).
Waste Management Licence Disposal of any quantity of hazardous9 waste to land. GN 921: Category B 4(7).
Waste Management Licence Construction of a facility for a waste management activity listed in Category A. GN 921: Category A 3(12) (or Category B 4(10) where the waste management activity is listed in Category B).
No licence, only compliance with Norms and Standards for Storage of Waste, 201310 The storage of general waste at a facility that has the capacity to store in excess of 100 cubic metres of general waste at any one time, excluding the storage of waste in lagoons or temporary11 storage of such waste. GN 921: Category C 5(1) (or Category C 5(2) where hazardous waste is stored in excess of 80 cubic metres at any one time).
Environmental Authorisation The development of infrastructure exceeding 1000 metres in length for the bulk transportation of water12 or storm water – (i) with an internal diameter of 0,36 metres or more; or (ii) with a peak throughput of 120 litres per second or more; excluding where – (a) such infrastructure is for bulk transportation of water or storm water or storm water drainage inside a road reserve; or (b) where such development will occur within an urban area. Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, Listing Notice 1 (Listing Notice 1) 13: Activity 9.
Environmental Authorisation The development and related operation of infrastructure exceeding 1000 metres in length for the bulk transportation of sewage, effluent, process water, waste water,14 return water, industrial discharge or slimes – (i) with an internal diameter of 0,36 metres or more; or with a peak throughput of 120 litres per second or more. Listing Notice 1: Activity 10.
Environmental Authorisation The construction of facilities or infrastructure for the storage, or for the storage and handling, of a dangerous good, where such storage occurs in containers with a combined capacity of 80 but not exceeding 500 cubic metres.15 Listing Notice 1: Activity 14 (or Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations Listing Notice 216 (Listing Notice 2): Activity 4, where the capacity exceeds 500 cubic metres).
Environmental Authorisation The infilling or depositing of any material of more than 5 cubic metres into, or the dredging, excavation, removal or moving of soil, sand, shells,17 shell grit, pebbles or rock of more than 5 cubic metres from a watercourse, the seashore, or the littoral active zone but excluding where such infilling, depositing, dredging, excavation, removal or moving is for maintenance purposes undertaken in accordance with a management plan agreed to by the relevant environmental authority or occurs behind the development setback line. Listing Notice 1: Activity 19.
Environmental Authorisation The development and related operation of facilities for the treatment of effluent, wastewater or sewage with a daily throughput of more than 2000 cubic metres but less than 15 000 cubic metres.18 Listing Notice 1: Activity 25 (or Listing Notice 2: Activity 25, if the throughput capacity exceeds 15 000 cubic meters).
Environmental Authorisation The development of facilities or infrastructure for any process or activity which requires a permit or licence in terms of national or provincial legislation governing the generation or release of emissions, pollution or effluent, excluding activities which are identified in Listing Notice 1, activities which are included in the list of waste management activities published in terms of section 19 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (in which case that Act will apply), or facilities with a daily throughput capacity of less than 2000 cubic metres. Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, Listing Notice 219 (Listing Notice 2): Activity 6.
Environmental Authorisation Any activity including the operation of that activity which requires a prospecting right in terms of section 16 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002.20 Listing Notice 1: Activity 20.
Environmental Authorisation Any activity including the operation of that activity which requires a mining right as contemplated in section 22 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002.21 Listing Notice 2: Activity 17.
Mining permit / right Extraction of raw materials from a quarry.22 Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act: Section 27 / 22.
Heritage Approval For large-scale developments of the following categories, the heritage resources authority in the applicable area must be notified (and having been notified will assess whether heritage approval is required):23
  1. the construction of a road, wall, powerline, pipeline, canal or other similar form of linear development or barrier exceeding 300 metres in length;
  2. the construction of a bridge or similar structure exceeding 50 metres in length;
  3. any development or other activity which will change the character of a site –
    1. exceeding 5 000 square metres in extent; or
    2. involving three or more existing erven or subdivisions thereof; or
    3. involving three or more erven or divisions thereof which have been consolidated within the past five years; or
    4. the costs of which will exceed a sum set in terms of regulations by SAHRA or a provincial heritage resources authority;
  4. the re-zoning of a site exceeding 10 000 square metres in extent; or
  5. any other category of development provided for in regulations by South African Heritage Resources Authority or a provincial heritage resources authority.
 National Heritage Resources Act: Section 38.
National Forests Act licence If the company cuts, disturbs, damages or destroys any protected tree;24 or possesses, collects, removes, transports, exports, purchases, sells, donates or in any other manner acquires or disposes of any protected tree, or any forest product derived from a protected tree during construction of any of its facilities or during operations – it must obtain a licence in terms of the National Forests Act (or an exemption). National Forests Act: Section 15.
  1. Portland cement clinker is not defined in GN 893. According to www.understanding-cement.com, “Portland cement clinker is a dark grey nodular material made by heating ground limestone and clay at a temperature of about 1400 C - 1500 C. The nodules are ground up to a fine powder to produce cement, with a small amount of gypsum added to control the setting properties.” It is also the basic ingredient of concrete (www.concrete.org).
  2. Published under Government Notice 893 in Government Gazette 37054 of 22 November 2013.
  3. Water Use Licence likely to be required if water is not obtained from the municipality.
  4. Water Use Licence may be required unless water storage is authorised in terms of a general authorisation.
  5. Water Use Licence required if waste water is discharged in this manner.
  6. There are broadly 2 methods for cement processing: 1. dry process; or 2. wet process. In the wet process, water is added to the raw mill during the grinding of the raw materials in ball or tube mills and produces a pumpable slip or slurry. It is possible that when this water is disposed it may contain waste, and a company disposing of such water would therefore require a Water Use Licence.
  7. “Recovery” is defined in the National Environmental Management: Waste Act as the “controlled extraction or retrieval of any substance, material or object from waste”. Where alternative fuels (such as waste materials and scrap rubber) are used in cement kilns and the thresholds prescribed in GN 921 are exceeded, a Waste Management Licence is required.
  8. Published under Government Notice 921 in Government Gazette 37083 of 29 November 2013.
  9. Under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, residue stockpiles and residue deposits are regarded as hazardous waste. The extraction of raw materials from a quarry is likely to result in residue stockpiles and deposits. If this is disposed of on land, a Waste Management Licence is required.
  10. GN 926 published in Government Gazette 37088 of 29 November 2013.
  11. “Temporary storage” is defined in GN 921 as “once off storage that does not exceed 90 days”. If general (or hazardous) waste is regularly stored on site for more than 90 days, such storage must comply with the norms and standards prescribed.
  12. If facilities are constructed to transport water to site and they meet the thresholds prescribed, then Environmental Authorisation is required.
  13. GN 983, published in Government Gazette 38282 of 4 December 2014.
  14. If wastewater is generated by the company and they construct facilities to transport such wastewater, this activity may be triggered.
  15. The construction of facilities to store certain fuels which are flammable, or for the storage of hazardous by-products of the cement production process, may trigger the need for Environmental Authorisation.
  16. Published under Government Notice R545 in Government Gazette 33306 of 18 June 2010.
  17. Sometimes shells are used as raw materials for the production of cement. If more than 5 cubic metres of any of the listed substances are removed from a watercourse by the company for the production of cement, then Environmental Authorisation is required.
  18. If facilities are construction for the treatment of waste water, then Environmental Authorisation may be required.
  19. Government Notice R 984 published in Government Gazette 38282 of 4 December 2014.
  20. Applicable if mining is undertaken by the company. Where raw materials are purchased (and not mined), then the need for Environmental Authorisation in terms of this listed activity would not be triggered.
  21. Applicable if mining is undertaken by the company. Where raw materials are purchased (and not mined), then the need for Environmental Authorisation in terms of this listed activity would not be triggered.
  22. Only applicable if mining is undertaken by the company. Where raw materials, such as calcium carbonate, limestone and silica sand, are purchased, a mining right / permit is not required.
  23. Heritage approval is not required if heritage impacts are assessed as part of an environmental impact assessment process for Environmental Authorisation, provided that comments received from the heritage authority are incorporated into the final report (as per section 38(10) of the National Heritage Resources Act).
  24. A protected tree is defined as a tree declared to be protected, or belonging to a group of trees, woodland or species declared to be protected, under section 12(1) or 14(2) of the National Forests Act.