NEMA, where the duty of care does not expire
Section 28 obliges anyone who causes significant environmental pollution or degradation to take reasonable measures to prevent it, and that duty attaches to the person, continues over time and can reach directors personally. Dimeri holds it as a tracked obligation rather than a principle.
What NEMA requires
The National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 is the framework statute for environmental governance in South Africa. Section 2 sets out national environmental management principles that bind every organ of state and inform the interpretation of every other environmental law. Underneath it sit the specific environmental management acts covering air quality, waste, biodiversity, protected areas and integrated coastal management, each with its own licensing regime.
Three provisions carry most of the operational weight. Section 24 requires environmental authorisation for listed activities, obtained through an impact assessment process, and the authorisation comes with conditions that bind the holder for the life of the activity. Section 28 imposes a general duty of care on every person who causes, has caused or may cause significant pollution or degradation, to take reasonable measures to prevent it continuing or recurring, and empowers authorities to issue directives where that duty is not discharged. Section 30 governs emergency incidents, requiring notification and containment.
What makes NEMA unusual is its reach. Section 24G allows rectification of unlawful commencement, but at a cost and without guaranteeing authorisation. Section 34 provides for criminal liability, and directors and managers can be held personally liable where an offence resulted from their failure to take reasonable steps. Financial provision for rehabilitation applies to prospecting and mining operations. The duty of care in particular does not end when an activity does.
The obligations Dimeri tracks
Dimeri holds authorisation conditions and statutory duties as obligations with owners and evidence, which is the level at which an inspector tests them.
Duty of care
Reasonable measures to prevent significant pollution or degradation from occurring, continuing or recurring, a duty that attaches to the person and persists.
- Measures recorded with the impact they address
- Ongoing obligations tracked after activities end
- Directives received held with their remedial steps
- Evidence that measures were taken, not just planned
Environmental authorisation
Authorisation for listed activities, obtained through the assessment process, with conditions that bind the holder for the life of the activity.
- Authorisations held with their full condition set
- Each condition as a tracked obligation with an owner
- Monitoring and reporting conditions on a calendar
- Amendments and renewals tracked to their dates
Emergency incidents
Notification of emergency incidents to the relevant authorities, containment, and remediation of the effects.
- Incident register with notification assessment
- Notifications evidenced with recipient and time
- Containment and remediation steps recorded
- Post incident reporting held against the section
Specific environmental management acts
Air quality, waste, biodiversity, protected areas and coastal management obligations, each with its own licences and conditions.
- Atmospheric emission licences with their conditions
- Waste management licences and reporting duties
- Water use authorisations held alongside
- Licence expiry and renewal tracked with lead time
Liability and rectification
Criminal liability including for directors and managers where an offence resulted from a failure to take reasonable steps, and the rectification route for unlawful commencement.
- Reasonable steps evidenced at management level
- Rectification applications tracked where used
- Directives and notices held with responses
- Board reporting on environmental exposure
Financial provision and closure
Where prospecting or mining applies, financial provision for rehabilitation, and the obligations that survive closure.
- Provision quantum and review dates tracked
- Rehabilitation obligations held per area
- Closure planning updated on a cycle
- Residual duty of care recorded post closure
How Dimeri covers NEMA
Environmental exposure accumulates in licence conditions nobody owns and in duties that outlast the project that created them.
Authorisation conditions with owners
An environmental authorisation can carry dozens of conditions, each a separate obligation with its own frequency and evidence. Held as conditions in a PDF they go unread; held as obligations with owners and dates they get met.
A duty that survives the project
Section 28 continues after an activity ends, and so do rehabilitation and closure obligations. Dimeri keeps them tracked rather than letting them lapse with the project team that created them.
Reasonable steps at management level
Section 34 exposure for directors and managers turns on whether reasonable steps were taken. Board and committee oversight of environmental obligations is recorded with dates, which is the evidence that question needs.
One register with ISO 14001
NEMA duties and licence conditions are precisely the compliance obligations ISO 14001 clause 6.1.3 requires you to determine and keep current. Recorded once, they serve the statute and the certification together.
Getting NEMA coverage in place
- 1
Inventory the authorisations
Every environmental authorisation, emission licence, waste licence and water use authorisation is loaded with its full condition set. This is the largest piece of work and the one that pays back fastest.
- 2
Turn conditions into obligations
Each condition gets an owner, a frequency and an evidence requirement, so monitoring, reporting and operational limits are tracked rather than remembered.
- 3
Set up incident and directive handling
Section 30 incidents and any directives received run through a defined process with notification timing, containment and remediation recorded as they happen.
- 4
Report upward
Environmental exposure, open conditions and incidents are reported to the board and the relevant committee on a cycle, which is both good governance and the evidence section 34 contemplates.
NEMA questions
What does the section 28 duty of care actually require?
Every person who causes, has caused or may cause significant pollution or degradation of the environment must take reasonable measures to prevent it from occurring, continuing or recurring. It attaches to the person rather than to a licence, applies whether or not you hold an authorisation, and continues over time. Authorities can issue directives where they consider the duty is not being discharged.
Can directors be held personally liable?
Section 34 provides for the criminal liability of directors and managers where an offence under the Act resulted from a failure to take reasonable steps to prevent it. What constitutes reasonable steps is fact specific, but documented oversight, resourcing and response to known issues is the evidence that question turns on.
What is a section 24G rectification?
Where a listed activity was commenced without the required environmental authorisation, section 24G provides a route to apply for rectification. It involves an administrative fine and a full assessment, and it does not guarantee that authorisation will be granted. It is a remedy rather than a substitute for authorising in advance.
How does NEMA relate to ISO 14001?
NEMA is law; ISO 14001 is a voluntary management system standard. Clause 6.1.3 of ISO 14001 requires you to determine and keep current your compliance obligations, which for a South African operation means NEMA, the specific environmental management acts and your licence conditions. Dimeri holds them once and serves both.
Is this a substitute for legal advice?
No. NEMA carries criminal liability including for individuals, and authorisation conditions are specific to each activity. Your environmental and legal advisers should confirm what applies to your operation.
Put NEMA on one register
Every requirement mapped to a control with a named owner, the evidence held against it, and one view of where you stand.