Have your say in the city’s air pollution control by-laws

RESIDENTS of the City of Johannesburg and other stakeholders have 10 days to comment on the draft air pollution control by-law and the draft Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP).

This is in terms of Section 7 (5) of the Rationalisation of Local Government Affairs Act 1998, Section 12 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act no 32 of 2000 and Section 15 (2) of the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act (NEMAQA) (Act 39 of 2004) respectively.

The draft air pollution control by-law is aimed at regulating air pollution within the City. It provides a regulatory framework for the control of emissions from sources such as small industries, vehicles, fossil fuel burning and provides for the declaration of the City as an Air Quality Management Zone.

The AQMP provides definitive objectives, strategies, plans and procedures for the relevant spheres of government to meet the requirements of the NEMAQA with respect to air quality management planning and reporting.

The interim chairperson, Environment and Infrastructure Services Section 79 Committee, Clr Lori Coogan, has urged residents to submit their written comments before the end of business on June 1.

A focus of the updated AQMP is to ensure that the air quality management goals are well-aligned with the City’s policy priorities and that the impact on air quality can be monitored, reported and verified.

The objectives of the air pollution control by-laws and the AQMP are to give effect to the rights contained in Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 by controlling air pollution within the area of jurisdiction of the City; to ensure that air pollution is avoided or where it cannot be avoided, is minimised and to provide, in conjunction with applicable law, an effective legal and administrative framework within which the municipality can manage, regulate and prevent activities that can or do cause emissions that have potential to impact adversely on the public health and wellbeing and environment.

The draft air pollution control by-laws and the draft AQMP are amended and reviewed to be consistent with the legislative requirements and for effective implementation.

The City has monitoring stations across the City in order to measure the concentrations of air pollutants in the air at different places

Copies of the draft air pollution control by-law and the draft AQMP can be obtained from the website www.joburg.org.za under key documents.

Written submissions may be submitted to the following email addresses:

shirleymor@joburg.org.za and/or cosmom@joburg.org.za

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