The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) on Tuesday 26 March urged all industries in the region operating a scheduled process to renew their atmospheric emission licence in order to comply with the requirements of Section 21 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 39 (NEM: AQA) of 2004, as gazetted in March 2010.

This is ahead of the March 31, 2013, grace period deadline for industries that are still operating with registration certificates which were applicable under the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act No. 45 of 1965 (APPA). According to the Municipality’s statement, the APPA was repealed in its entirety in April 2010.

Under APPA, all industrial facilities that were operating a scheduled process were legally required to obtain a registration certificate for each process. With its repeal, transitional arrangements in respect of all registration certificates came into effect and were deemed to be atmospheric emission licences to be valid for a period of four years.

All holders of these certificates were then required to apply with Atmospheric Emission Licensing Authorities (Metros and Districts) for the atmospheric emission licences within three years of entry into effect of the transitional arrangements, namely by 31 March 2013.

“With this deadline fast approaching, we are reminding all stakeholders affected by this transitional arrangement to make the necessary renewal applications with their respective atmospheric emission licencing authorities,” says HezekielNkosi, head of the environmental resource management department at the EMM.

“Failure to apply for renewal before the end of this month will result in the expiry of the validity of the atmospheric emission licence. Operating a listed activity without such a licence is regarded as a punishable offence as stipulated in Section 52 of the NEM: AQA.”

The Ekurhuleni Metro which is known as Africa’s industrial hub has been declared an air pollution priority area called Highveld Priority Area with other municipalities within Mpumalanga by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairsdue to poor level of air quality caused by the heavy industries.

Emissions such as PM10 (Particulate Matters), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2-NOx) and Sulphur dioxide gas emissions are slightly higher in Ekurhuleni from the processes and need to be reduced.

The municipality has commissioned 10 air quality monitoring stations that are monitoring the level/concentration of different criteria pollutants as part of taking air quality and climate change issues very serious.

The new Air Quality Act has prioritised issues around global warming and climate change and local industries too must comply to the set emission standards in order for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to comply with ambient standards.