| (1) | A person who wishes to dump at sea any waste or other material must— |
| (a) | apply in writing to the Minister in the form stipulated by the Minister for a dumping permit that authorises the waste or other material to be loaded aboard a vessel, aircraft, platform or other structure and to be dumped at sea; and |
| (2) | When deciding an application for a dumping permit contemplated in subsection (1), the Minister must have regard to— |
| (c) | the likely environmental impact of the proposed activity; |
| (d) | national legislation dealing with waste; |
| (f) | transboundary impacts and international obligations and standards; and |
| (g) | any other factors that may be prescribed. |
| (3) | The Minister may not grant a dumping permit that authorises the dumping of any waste or other material, other than— |
| (c) | fish waste, or material resulting from industrial fish processing operations; |
| (d) | vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea; |
| (e) | inert, inorganic geological material; |
| (f) | organic material of natural origin; |
| (g) | bulky items primarily comprising iron, steel, concrete and similarly non-harmful materials for which the concern is physical impact, and limited to those circumstances where such wastes are generated at locations, such as small islands with isolated communities, having no practicable access to disposal options other than dumping at sea; or |
| (h) | waste or other material which may be prescribed. |
[Subsection (3) substituted by section 42(a) of Act No. 36 of 2014]
| (4) | The Minister may not issue a dumping permit if— |
| (a) | the waste or other material proposed for dumping contains— |
| (i) | levels of radioactivity greater than as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency and adopted by the contracting parties to the Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter adopted on 7 November 1996; or |
| (ii) | material which is capable of creating floating debris or otherwise contributing to the pollution of the marine environment and which could be removed from the material proposed for dumping; |
| (b) | dumping the waste or other material in question— |
| (i) | is likely to cause irreversible or long-lasting adverse effects that cannot satisfactorily be mitigated; |
| (ii) | would cause a serious obstacle to fishing or navigation; |
| (iv) | would be contrary to the obligations of the Republic under international law; or |
| (v) | would be contrary to the interests of the whole community. |
| (5) | The Minister, may issue a dumping permit for a period of not more than five years whereafter a new application must be made. |
[Subsection (5) substituted by section 42(b) of Act No. 36 of 2014]
