ENVIRONMENT IN FOCUS
ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
By Eamonn Ryan
Speaking at The Concrete Conference on 16 May at the Sandton Convention Centre, Eben van Schalkwyk, a director of EP3 Environmental, presented the practical risks that quarry managers and contractors face in terms of the environment.
EP3 Environmental
Licenses are required for temporary storage of more than 80m 3 of hazardous waste.
Environmental protection is enshrined in s24 of the Constitution, as well as the National Environmental Management Act, 1998( Act No. 107 of 1998) and several regulations. Many of these risks are not well understood and frequently, offences are committed by individuals blithely ignorant that they are doing anything wrong. All access roads, including those on farms, are covered by the regulations, for instance, and Van Schalkwyk gives the example of a contractor who was fined for inadvertently killing protected plants along such a road.
“ Site camps, spoil areas, and other laydown areas are not always assessed during the EIA and can therefore be in contravention of environmental legislation, as contractors are not fully aware of site establishment requirements and the environmental risks associated with them,” says Van Schalkwyk.
Reporting of emergency incidents also comes in for attention:“ There are certain thresholds above which incidents have to be reported, and penalties are levied when they are not reported. These penalties are severe at a R10-million fine or 10 years imprisonment— not for the incident, just for failing to report it.”
Waste management
“ The regulations have changed a lot in the past 10 years and some of the‘ old school’ guys are not aware of the provisions of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act( 2008). Provision has to be made for waste in projects, as there is
34 _ QUARRY SA | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018