Environmental exclusions will speed up Gauteng’s development
• Draft notice allows activities in defined zones to be undertaken without prior authorisation
Development in Gauteng is coordinated around its Environmental Management Framework of 2014. It is a strategic document designed to guide sustainable land-use management in the province.
Its function is to identify geographical areas where certain development activities can be excluded from environmental impact assessments and the prior environmental authorisation process provided for in the National Environmental Management Act.
On April 13, 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 speed up nonpolluting urban development in pre-identified areas in Gauteng.
Developers rightly bemoan the inflexibility of the environmental authorisation application process. Where a development triggers any of the activities published under the National Environmental Management Act, 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).
Brownfield developments, residential, and commercial developments usually have little material environmental impact, and those effects 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 predetermined geographic zones will tackle 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 (retail, residential, industrial and commercial) and developments requiring the storage and handling of dangerous goods such as retail fuel stations.
THE NOTICE WILL BE A WELCOME RELIEF TO DEVELOPERS LOOKING TO REDUCE COSTS IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE
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 the 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 areas where streamlining of nonpolluting industrial and large-scale commercial activities is required.
This will result in time and cost savings for affected projects and will open up Zones 1 and 5 as preferred development areas within Gauteng. 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, this doesn’t completely deregulate 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 environmental management standards. These standards operate as a nonnegotiable environmental management programme for affected developments and relate to 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 costs in the current economic climate.