Company Announcement - Last week, Sasol withdrew litigation against the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. Sasol was seeking to review and set aside the minimum air emission standards promulgated in 2013 under section 21 of the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act. However, despite the withdrawal of the litigation, the battle for clean air is not over. The Legal Resources Centre, on behalf of the Vaal Environmental Justice Association, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance and the Greater Middleburg Residents Association, has launched a fresh challenge against the relaxation of Sasol’s emission standards by local authorities.

Sasol made an application for the postponement of compliance with the minimum emissions standards. A wide range of environmental groups and civil society organisations, supported by LRC, made extensive submissions opposing the postponement applications and showing that the standards were feasible. Of the 130 applications for postponement, only five were granted for the more stringent new plant standards. However, three of these are significant pollutants and effect particular communities severely*.

At the same time as the postponement of compliance application, Sasol launched an application to review and set the standards aside, which was withdrawn last week. It is speculated that Sasol’s withdrawal of the litigation against the Minister was prompted by the announcement, made in February 2015, that the National Air Quality Officer was granting several significant postponements to Sasol. These postponements effect Sasol’s plants in Sasolburg and Secunda and delay compliance with the time frames for the minimum emission standards by  between three and ten years. It is speculated that the purpose of the review application against the Minister was to strengthen the postponement application by Sasol.

The same organisations represented by the LRC in the postponement application, had sought consent to be admitted as amici curiae in the review application. The ramifications of the review looked set to be far-reaching.

Fresh litigation

The Vaal Environmental Justice Association, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance and the Greater Middleburg Residents Association are appealing the decisions of the Gert Sibande (Mpumalanga) and Fezile Dabi (Free State) municipalities, who failed to consider relevant information when varying Sasol’s atmospheric emission licences to give effect to the postponements. The organisations state that there was a failure to consider local air quality, and the health of communities affected by Sasol plants, when the changes in the licences were made. There are also inconsistencies in the postponement decisions which are reflected in the varied licences. The organisations argue that this demonstrates that the local authorities did not independently apply their minds to the matter and that their decisions are reviewable.

NOTES

* Sasol has achieved massive advantages and cost savings by securing postponements for three of its major pollutant emissions; namely hydrogen sulphide (H2S), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM). It must also be noted that the postponements were granted for industries located in air pollution hot spots i.e. Secunda and Sasolburg. The postponements will result in the health effects of these chemicals still affecting local communities.

In Secunda, Sasol is the only significant contributor of H2S which causes foul odours and serious health impacts. Studies have shown that, over a two-day period, exposure  to hydrogen sulphide levels of approximately 30 ppb (42 μg/m3) caused people to suffer excessively from irritation of the eye and nose and causes coughing, breathlessness, nausea, headache, and mental symptoms, including depression. These symptoms are commonplace in Secunda. Higher concentrations can result in brain and eye damage and even death, depending on the dose.

In Sasolburg, Natref emits significant quantities of highly toxic volatile organic compounds, which include many carcinogens, and emits a wide range of other health damaging emissions from its stacks.