Nkomati charged with contravention act
Company found guilty on eight charges.
NELSPRUIT – The management of Nkomati Anthracite Pty (Ltd) has to pay R4 million within 14 days for contravening the National Environmental Management (Nema) Act 107 of 1998 and the National Water Act 36 of 1998.
This was the ruling by the Nelspruit Regional Court when it sentenced the company to pay the sum of money to the Department of Environmental Affairs’ environmental- management inspectorate for the purposes of the proper execution of enforcement duties and training, and environmental rehabilitation.
The company was found guilty on eight charges including dredging, excavation, removal of soil, sand and rocks, and transformation and removal of indigenous vegetation on a three-hectare piece of land.
Other charges included the construction of a four-metre wide road and the construction of facilities and infrastructures requiring a permit in terms of the legislation that governs the generation or release of emission, pollution or waste.
It was also charged for diverting the flow of water in a watercourse as well as disposing waste in a manner that detrimentally impacted it.
It was also charged for altering the waterbed, banks, course of a watercourse and contravening Section 151 of the National Water act 36
of 1998’s Section 21 (b),
and 151.
“This ruling sends a strong message to would-be offenders that the department takes the enforcement of environmental legislation seriously,” said
Mr Albi Modise, spokesperson for the department, in a media statement.
He also stressed the importance of preserving wetlands and the role they (wetlands) play in the continuous supply of water as well as its contribution to biodiversity conservation.
“Every effort has to be made to conserve water resources in its ecologically functioning state as far as possible for the benefit of future generations, a position that promotes the fundamental principles set out in Nema,” he said.
