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Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act No. 73 of 1989)

Regulations

Activities Identified under Section 21

4. Application for authorisation to undertake activity

 

1) Application must be made on a form obtainable from the relevant authority.

 

2) An application must be submitted to the relevant provincial authority for consideration: Provided that an application in respect of an activity contemplated in subregulation (3) or (4) must be referred for consideration as indicated in those subregulations.

 

3) Subject to subregulation (3A), the provincial authority must refer the application to the Minister for consideration-
a) where the activity concerned has direct implications for national environmental policy or international environmental commitments or relations;
b) where the activity concerned will take place within an area that is demarcated as an area of national or international importance, but does not include the sea-shore, conservancies, protected environments, proclaimed private nature reserves, natural heritage sites, and the buffer zones and transitional areas of biosphere reserves and world heritage sites;
c) where the Minister and the provincial authority jointly decide that an application in respect of a specific activity should be considered by the Minister;
d) where a national government department, the relevant provincial authority or a statutory body other than a municipality contemplated in section 12 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Act, 2000 (Act No. 33 of 2000) is the applicant; or
e) where the activity has the potential to affect the environment across the borders of two or more provinces.

 

3A) Notwithstanding subregulation (3), the Minister and the provincial authority may jointly decide that an application or classes of applications dealing with similar types of activities referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (d) or (e) of that subregulation may be considered by the provincial authority:  Provided that where the interests of more than one province are affected -
a) the joint decision that the application be considered with the provincial sphere must be taken by the Minister and every provincial authority concerned; and
b) the application or classes of applications dealing with similar types of activities must be jointly considered by every provincial authority concerned.

 

4) If a local authority has been designated by the Minister in terms of section 22(1) of the Act to issue authorisation for an activity specified by the Minister, the provincial authority must refer an application in respect of such activity to that local authority for consideration.

 

5) The relevant authority must keep a register of all applications received.

 

6) The relevant authority must inform the applicant whether the applicant must advertise the application, and of the manner in which this must be done.