Long title

To amend the National Environmental Management Act, 1998, so as to amend certain definitions; to adjust the timeframes for the preparation of environmental implementation plans and environmental management plans; to provide for the process and procedure for submitting environment outlook reports; to promote or facilitate the mainstreaming of integrated, environmentally sustainable and sound management considerations into business processes, practices, technology and decision-making across the economy; to enable, as appropriate, the use of spatial tools, norms and standards and environmental management instruments in decision-making as an alternative to environmental authorisation procedures; to empower the Minister to restrict or prohibit development in specified geographical areas; to empower the Minister or MEC to develop norms and standards for activities, sectors and geographical areas; to clarify when the Minister is the competent authority; to identify the Minister as the competent authority where the MEC is usually the competent authority and a Cabinet decision stipulates that the Minister must be the competent authority for activities related to a matter declared as a national priority or matters related to such national priority; to empower the Minister to take a decision in the place of the MEC under certain circumstances; to allow for the transfer of rights and obligations relating to an environmental authorisation; to provide legal clarity on the applicability of section 24G to the unlawful commencement, undertaking or conducting of a waste management activity under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008; to provide legal clarity on the options available to the competent authority in processing a section 24G application, to increase the administrative fine and to provide for criminal investigation and prosecution in certain circumstances; to further provide for exemptions under certain circumstances and to clarify that there will be no exemptions provided from obtaining an environmental authorisation; to provide for the consideration of adopted environmental management instruments when considering an environmental authorisation application; to provide for emergency situations and to distinguish between an ‘‘incident’’ and an ‘‘emergency situation’’; to provide for the power and the circumstances under which an environmental management inspector may, without a warrant, seize any mechanism of transport; to insert provisions to regulate products which have a detrimental effect on the environment; to provide for all regulations to be tabled in Parliament before promulgation; to add provisions regarding the delivery of documents; to consolidate all offences and penalties under the Act; and to correct or delete certain obsolete provisions; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Table of contents

SECTION	TITLE
1.	Amendment of section 1 of Act 107 of 1998...
2.	Amendment of section 11 of Act 107 of 1998...
3.	Insertion of section 16A in Act 107 of 1998
4.	Insertion of section 23A in Act 107 of 1998
5.	Amendment of section 24 of Act 107 of 1998...**
6.	Amendment of section 24C of Act 107 of 1998...**
7.	Amendment of section 24E of Act 107 of 1998...**
8.	Amendment of section 24F of Act 107 of 1998...
9.	Substitution of section 24G of Act 107 of 1998...**
10.	Amendment of section 24M of Act 107 of 1998...
11.	Amendment of section 24O of Act 107 of 1998...
12.	Amendment of section 28 of Act 107 of 1998...
13.	Amendment of section 30 of Act 107 of 1998...
14.	Insertion of section 30A in Act 107 of 1998
15.	Amendment of section 31J of Act 107 of 1998...
16.	Amendment of section 31N of Act 107 of 1998...**
17.	Amendment of section 31Q of Act 107 of 1998...
18.	Repeal of section 34A of Act 107 of 1998
19.	Amendment of section 34H of Act 107 of 1998...
20.	Insertion of section 39A in Act 107 of 1998
21.	Amendment of section 44 of Act 107 of 1998...
22.	Amendment of section 47 of Act 107 of 1998...
23.	Amendment of section 47D of Act 107 of 1998...
24.	Repeal of section 48 of Act 107 of 1998
25.	Insertion of sections 49A and 49B in Act 107 of 1998
26.	Substitution of certain expressions in Act 107 of 1998
27.	Amendment of Schedule 3 to Act 107 of 1998...**
28.	Amendment of Table of Contents of Act 107 of 1998**
29.	Short title and commencement

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