The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has amended the transitional arrangements in the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) Financial Provisioning Regulations, 2015 (FP Regs), for the fourth time. Holders of rights and/or permits operating in the mining industry (who applied for them before 20 November 2015) now have until 19 September 2023 to transition to the NEMA regime. This extension from 19 June 2022 occurs when the long-awaited National Environmental Management Amendment Bill [B14F-17], dubbed NEMLAA4 could be enacted at any time and will likely set the scene for the finalisation of the Third Draft FP Regulations, 2021, which are intended to completely replace the existing set of FP Regs.
The long-awaited National Environmental Management Amendment Bill (NEMLAA4), which has been approved by Parliament, will help to address the potential impacts of mining on South Africa’s scarce water resources The pressure on South African mining companies to raise their standards of Environmental, Social and Governance behaviour is expected to gain added momentum this year with the recent parliamentary approval of the National Environmental Management Amendment Bill (NEMLAA4). The Bill, which has been sent to the President for signature, includes some stricter new measures that relate to the management of mine water.