DRAFT NATIONAL SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE GUIDELINE
Title: Draft National Social Infrastructure Guideline
Government Notice: GN 1008 in Government Gazette 39324 of 23 October 2015
Date of commencement: Not yet specified
Potentially affected controls: Need to be taken into account in the application and decision-making process for environmental authorizations in respect of SI projects as required by the 2014 EIA Regulations
In terms of section 24J of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) the Minister may publish guidelines regarding listed activities or specified activities or the implementation, administration and institutional arrangements of regulations made in terms of section 24(5) of NEMA. This Guideline has been published in terms of section 24J of NEMA.
The key objectives of the draft Guideline include:
- To increase the understanding and capacity of role players to implement and/or manage the EIA process.
- To provide a common understanding of the impacts of Social Infrastructure (SI) on the natural environment.
- To improve the general understanding of the legal framework governing environmental sustainability and the specific obligations of role-players in terms of the EIA process.
- To improve co-operative governance through better alignment of the EIA and other relevant regulatory processes.
The draft Guideline is aimed predominantly at those involved in the delivery of SI. The draft Guideline also has relevance to other role players including competent authorities, other regulatory authorities, local government, contractors and developers, EIA practitioners and interested and affected parties.
The Guideline can be accessed from the Department of Environmental Affairs website: www.environment.gov.za Members of the public are invited to submit to the Minister, within 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Gazette, written comments or inputs to the addresses indicated in the notice.
