Disclaimer

The National Environmental Authorisation System (NEAS) has been established in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014 (as amended). According to EIA Regulation 5(4) states that when a national electronic system for the recording of environmental authorisation applications is made available, it is mandatory for all competent authorities to use this system to maintain the records specified in sub-regulation (3)(a) and (b); and Regulation 5(4) states that when a national electronic system is provided for the submission of applications for environmental authorisation, this system must be used by all applicants.

Any Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) appointed for the purposes of EIA application(s) must be properly registered with the Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa (EAPASA), as required by Regulation 14 of the Section 24H Registration Authority Regulations, 2016 (as amended). Current and valid proof of such registration must be attached to the Application Form. Before EAPs are able to access the National Environmental Authorisation System (NEAS) to capture, upload, and submit applications, they must first complete the registration process on the NEAS platform. The NEAS is directly linked to the EAPASA database, ensuring that only the good standing registered EAPs can utilise the system for application submission purposes.

Unless prohibited by law, all information contained in, and appended to, the application will become public information upon receipt by the Competent Authority. At any point during the application process, the Applicant or EAP must provide any registered interested and affected party with access to the information contained in, and appended to, the application, upon request..

It is the responsibility of the Applicant or EAP to determine if a newer version of the application form has been published or issued by the Competent Authority. The Applicant or EAP must ensure that the most recent version is used for submission purposes.

For the purposes of section 24C of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the Applicant or EAP must identify and confirm the CA to whom the application should be submitted. All relevant listed activities and/or categories requiring Environmental Authorisation (EA) and/or a Waste Management Licence (WML) must be specified before any construction begins. If the proposed development is revised to include additional activities that fall under Listing Notice 1, 2, and/or 3 of the EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended) and/or Category A and/or B of Waste Management Act, those activities and/or categories must be included in the application and assessed prior to implementation.

An application for Environmental Authorisation and/or a Waste Management Licence will lapse if the EAP or Applicant fails to comply with any prescribed timeframe outlined in the EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended).

Submission of an application for Environmental Authorisation and/or a Waste Management Licence must include a report generated by the web-based Environmental Screening Tool (Appendix 14), as stipulated in the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. sThis Screening Tool produces the Screening Report referred to in Regulation 16(1)(b)(v) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014 (as amended), and the report must accompany the application upon submission.