Environment
License before you leap
C
learing of indigenous vegetation, or constructing
close to a watercourse or wetland, are among the
many activities that could land farm owners and
agricultural developers in hot water – if they don’t have the
required environmental authorisations.
According to Karissa Nel, prin-
cipal environmental scientist at
SRK Consulting’s Port Elizabeth
office, the company is often
required to submit ‘Section
24G’ applications on behalf
of clients who start work on a
site before they have complied
with the National Environmental
Management Act (NEMA) or
other environmental legislation.
“Section 24G of NEMA provides
for a formal application process
to rectify activities that began
without the required environ-
mental authorisations or licenses,”
said Nel. “However, before any
authorisation decision is taken,
the law allows that an adminis-
trative fine of up to R5 million
may be levied.”
Agricultural activities and
residential developments
The activity could be any of the
activities listed in the NEMA
2014 EIA Regulations (as
amended in 2017) and ranges
from residential developments
to agricultural activities such as
crop fields, piggeries, chicken
batteries, abattoirs and commer-
cial composting – including the
associated infrastructure such as
pipelines and roads. The ‘24G
application’, as it is informally
called, addresses the unlawful
commencement or continua-
tion of an activity for which an
Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) or a waste management
license was required.
“It does not matter if non-
compliance occurred as a wilful
unlawful act or whether a party
was completely unaware of the
requirements of the environmental
legislation,” Nel said.
Neither does the payment of
the administrative fine guar-
antee a successful outcome of
the application.
Long processes
“Even before payment is made,
the competent authority has the
discretion to accept or refuse the
section 24G application,” said
Nel. “Only once the application is
accepted – and a fine calculated
and paid – will the competent
authority process and consider
the information submitted with
the application.”
The pain does not stop there. The
S24G processes can take more
than four times longer than a
normal environmental assessment
process done in good time. Also,
interested and affected parties
that give input during the public
participation process are often
not very forgiving, adding addi-
tional complexity to the process.
The authorities can also put a stop
to all activities on site while they
assess the environmental impacts
and rehabilitate or remediate any
environmental damage or pollu-
tion that has taken place as a
result of the activity.
The message is clear, she said.
The lawful and most efficient way
to approach any new activity on
your property is to determine the
legal requirements upfront, before
starting any work that may impact
the environment.
Cannabis
How to transition cannabis from veg to
flower with LEDs
Y
our cannabis crop is looking great as it completes the vegetative stage
– uniform structure, robust size, pest and pathogen-free. Now it’s
time to flower!
Many growers run into issues when flipping their veg room to flower, says LED light specialist
Lumigrow. Keep your crop healthy and avoid shock damage by gradually transitioning your plants
from their vegetative to flowering lighting conditions. Do this by incrementally increasing light
levels and limiting cultivation changes to as few variables as possible.
STEP 3
Repeat Until Ideal Light
Intensity Reached
STEP 1
Adjust to New Photoperiod STEP 2
Begin to Increase Light Intensity
For the first 1-2 days in flowering, just let your
plants get used to the new 12-hour photope-
riod. Leave light intensity the same as what
they were exposed to in the vegetative stage. After the plants are acclimated to their
new photoperiod, you can begin gradu-
ally increasing light intensity by about 10%
every 1-2 days.
Once your light intensity has reached the
level you want for flower and your plants
are happy, let them do their thing! At this
stage, you can adjust other environmental
variables as needed. Keep in mind that any
cultivation changes can impact plant perfor-
mance as you transition your crop through
its life stages. Try to minimize the number of
changes you make at any one time to main-
tain your crop’s health.
To access the full article, visit
www.lumigrow.com
SABI | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
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