| (2) | The Minister must be identified as the competent authority in terms of subsection (1), unless otherwise agreed to in terms of section 24C(3), if the activity- |
| (a) | has implications for international environmental commitments or relations, and where— |
| (i) | it is identified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette; or |
| (ii) | it is an activity that takes place in an area protected by means of an international environmental instrument, other than— |
| (bb) | a protected natural environment; |
| (cc) | a proclaimed private nature reserve; |
| (dd) | a natural heritage site; |
| (ee) | the buffer zone or transitional area of a biosphere reserve; or |
| (ff) | the buffer zone or transitional area of a world heritage site; |
[Section 24C(2)(a) amended by section 6(b) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (b) | [Section 24C(2)(b) deleted by section 6(c) of Act No. 30 of 2013]; |
| (c) | has a development footprint that falls within the boundaries of more than one province or traverses international boundaries; |
| (d) | is undertaken, or is to be undertaken, by— |
| (ii) | a provincial department responsible for environmental affairs or any other organ of state performing a regulatory function and reporting to the MEC; or |
| (iii) | a statutory body, excluding any municipality, performing an exclusive competence of the national sphere of government; or |
| (e) | will take place within a national proclaimed protected area or other conservation area under control of a national authority. |
[Section 24C(2) amended by section 6(a) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (2A) | The Minister responsible for mineral resources must be identified as the competent authority in terms of subsection (1) where the listed or specified activity is a mining activity. |
[Section 24C(2A) substituted by section 4(a) of the National Environmental Laws Amendment Act, 2022 GG46602, dated 24 June 2022: Commencement by Proclamation 125 of 2023, GG48869, dated 30 June 2023]
| (a) | Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, and in the event of the Minister not being the competent authority, the Minister must be identified as the competent authority where 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, unless otherwise agreed to in terms of subsection (3). |
[Section 24C(2B)(a) substituted by section 4(b) of the National Environmental Laws Amendment Act, 2022 GG46602, dated 24 June 2022: Commencement by Proclamation 125 of 2023, GG48869, dated 30 June 2023]
| (b) | Notice must be given by the Minister in the Gazette approximately 90 days prior to the Cabinet decision referred to in paragraph (a). |
| (c) | The notice referred to in paragraph (b) must as a minimum contain the following information: |
| (i) | The proposed decision to be considered by Cabinet and its rationale; |
| (ii) | the approximate date of the consideration of the proposed decision by Cabinet; |
| (iii) | the proposed date on which the decision will come into effect; |
| (iv) | the proposed time-frame for which the Minister will be the competent authority, where appropriate; |
| (v) | the activities contemplated in section 24(2)(a) or geographical areas contemplated in section 24(2)(b); and |
| (vi) | any transitional arrangements that may be applicable to applications for environmental authorisations that already have been or are being processed. |
| (d) | Once Cabinet has made the decision referred to in paragraph (a), the Minister must publish the decision by notice in the Gazette. |
[Section 24C(2B) inserted by section 6(d) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (a) | Whenever a decision on an application for an environmental authorisation is not made within the time-frames applicable to that process, the applicant may apply to the Minister to facilitate the process of taking the decision by the Minister responsible for mineral resources, or where appropriate, to take the decision. |
| (b) | The applicant must notify the Minister responsible for mineral resources in writing of the intention to exercise the option in paragraph (a) at least 30 days prior to the exercising of such option. |
| (c) | The application contemplated in paragraph (a) must, at least, contain all the documents submitted to the Minister responsible for mineral resources in order to enable the Minister to take a decision. |
| (d) | Before taking a decision contemplated in paragraph (a), the Minister must request the Minister responsible for mineral resources to provide him or her with a report within a specified time period on the status and causes of delay in the application and whether the Minister will be able to take the decision within a specified time period. |
| (e) | After having received the report referred to in paragraph (d) or in the event that no response or no satisfactorily response or cooperation is received from the Minister responsible for mineral resources within the specified time period, the Minister must, where appropriate, take the decision or such other steps as the Minister may deem necessary, within a reasonable time period. |
| (f) | The Minister must, simultaneously with the submission of the annual report contemplated in section 40(1)(d)(i) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1990 (Act No. 1 of 1999), submit a report to Parliament setting out the details regarding the exercise of the power referred to in subsection (e) during the previous financial year. |
[Section 24C(2C) inserted by section 3(b) of Act No. 25 of 2014]
| (3) | The Minister, the Minister responsible for mineral resources and an MEC may agree that applications for environmental authorisations with regard to any activity or class of activities— |
| (a) | contemplated in subsections (2) and (2B) may be dealt with by the MEC or the Minister responsible for mineral resources; |
| (b) | in respect of which the MEC is identified as the competent authority may be dealt with by the Minister or the Minister responsible for mineral resources. |
[Section 24C(3) substituted by section 4(c) of the National Environmental Laws Amendment Act, 2022 GG46602, dated 24 June 2022: Commencement by Proclamation 125 of 2023, GG48869, dated 30 June 2023]
| (4) | In accordance with section 125(2)(b) of the Constitution, whenever an MEC fails to take a decision on an application for an environmental authorisation within the time periods prescribed by this Act, the applicant may apply to the Minister to take the decision. |
[Section 24C(4) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (5) | The applicant must notify the MEC in writing of the intention to exercise the option in subsection (4) at least 30 days prior to the exercising of such option. |
[Section 24C(5) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (6) | The application contemplated in subsection (4) must, at least, contain all the documents submitted to the MEC in order to enable the Minister to take a decision. |
[Section 24C(6) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (7) | Before taking a decision contemplated in subsection (4), the Minister must request the MEC to provide him or her with a report within a specified time period on the status and causes of delay in the application. |
[Section 24C(7) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (8) | After having received the report referred to in subsection (7) or in the event that no response or no satisfactory response or cooperation is received from the MEC within the specified time period the Minister must, where appropriate— |
| (a) | inform the applicant in the event that the MEC had complied with the relevant prescripts; |
| (b) | assist the MEC in accordance with section 125(3) of the Constitution to fulfil his or her obligations under this Act; or |
| (c) | direct the MEC to take the decision and such other steps as the Minister may deem necessary within a specified time period. |
[Section 24C(8) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (9) | In the event that the MEC fails to take the decision within the specified time period or in any other manner fails to comply with the directive contemplated in subsection (8)(c), the Minister must take the decision within a reasonable period of time. |
[Section 24C(9) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (10) | The Minister must, simultaneously with the submission of the annual report contemplated in section 40(1)(d)(i) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), submit a report to Parliament setting out the details regarding the exercise of the power referred to in subsection (8) during the previous financial year. |
[Section 24C(10) inserted by section 6(e) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (11) | A person who requires an environmental authorisation which also involves an activity that requires a licence or permit in terms of any of the specific environmental management Acts, must simultaneously submit those applications to the relevant competent authority or licensing authority, as the case may be, indicating in each application all other licences, authorisations and permits applied for. |
| (12) | A person who wishes to apply for a mining activity which also involves an activity that requires a licence, permit or authorisation in terms of any of the specific environmental management Acts, must simultaneously apply for an environmental authorisation after the acceptance, where such acceptance is applicable, of the application in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002. |
| (13) | If the competent authority or licensing authority contemplated in subsections (11) and (12), as the case may be, is the same authority to consider and decide the application for an environmental authorisation under this Act and the application under a specific environmental management Act, an integrated decision must be issued in accordance with section 24L. |
[Section 24C(11-13) inserted by section 4(d) of the National Environmental Laws Amendment Act, 2022 GG46602, dated 24 June 2022: Commencement by Proclamation 125 of 2023, GG48869, dated 30 June 2023]
