Environmental law is founded on three main pillars:

• planning and zoning;
• resources management (including heritage resources, water resources, mineral and petroleum resources, marine resources etc); and
• pollution and waste management.

Compliance with a plethora of environmental laws, increasing corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line reporting standards has increased the responsibilities and obligations of our clients. The environmental team in conjunction with town planners, environmental consultants and engineers guide our clients through this complex, wide reaching and continually evolving field of law in order to achieve our client's ultimate objectives.

The environmental team specialises in:

Environmental Compliance

The environmental team regularly conducts environmental audits to ensure that our clients businesses comply with the letter of the law and international environmental best practice. Where our clients are found to not be in compliance with the environmental requirements we are able to suggest methods of achieving compliance as quickly and efficiently as possible. This includes advising our clients on various permitting and licencing requirements, including, amongst others:

• waste disposal permits;
• water use licences;
• environmental authorisations;
• atmospheric emission licences.

In due diligence investigations, environmental compliance and environmental liability are essential in determining the value of a business, particularly in light of the duty of care provisions contained in the National Environmental Management Act (and other legislation) as well as the retrospective application of this legislation. Our environmental team will advise our clients on the environmental risks of a business as well as various ways in which these risks can be mitigated and / or overcome. In addition we review environmental management systems (such as ISO 14001) that our clients have adopted. Although environmental management systems assist parties in complying with the plethora of environmental requirements, it is not a guarantee that the relevant parties are in actual compliance with the legislations.

In addition, our clients often require that we compile environmental registers to assist them in understanding the various legal requirements that are necessary and appropriate for their business.

Environmental Impact Assessments

Certain activities must be authorised by the relevant environmental authority prior to undertaking that activity. Part of this authorisation process includes conducting an environmental impact assessment and public participation process. Our environmental team is able to guide our clients through these processes to ensure that they comply with the requirements set out in the legislation, regulations and guidelines so as to avoid appeal and review proceedings.

Environmental Litigation

Our environmental team has experience in conducting internal administrative appeals as well as reviews in the High Court in matters relating to conservation, mining, waste disposal, amongst others.

Mining

Environmental conservation, protection and rehabilitation are important aspects that must be considered and catered for in prospecting and mining activities. We advise our clients on, amongst other things, environmental impact assessments, financial guarantees, rehabilitation and mine closure. Significant amendments to the environmental and mining legislation are on the horizon which will impact upon the manner in which environmental issues in relation to mining are considered. Our environmental team will guide our clients through these amendments to ensure compliance at all times.

Climate Change

Corporate social responsibilty and business' obligation to take measures to reduce the emissions and carbon footprint is becoming more important. Although South Africa is under no obligation to reduce its emissions, this looks likely to change in the near future with companies and industries taking reasonable measures to ensure that their greenhouse gas emission are significantly reduced.

Currently first world countries are required to take measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. In terms of these international laws emission reduction projects in developing countires are being implemented. These project generate carbon credits which can be traded on various markets. Our environmental team advises our clients on the various options available to them to reduce the emissions created by their businesses, either through the clean development mechanism or other energy efficiency projects.

It is likely that South Africa and other developing countries will assume emission reduction responsibilities in the future and our environmental team will be in a position to advise our clients on new legislation and practice in this area of law.

Commercial undertakings

We advise our clients on various commercial concerns that may arise in relation to the environment. We seek to assist our clients in eliminating exposure to future liability and minimising their liability in respect of historical instances of environmental pollution or degradation as well as in the creation, distribution or transportation of waste and hazardous substances and the correct disposal and remediation of waste and pollution.

Contact: Eric van den Berg, Matthew Burnell