IN a ‘long overdue’ announcement, Mhlathuze Water (MW) is planning to make industries pay for non-compliance concerning effluent being discharged to sea via the outfall pipelines north of Alkantstrand.
The offshore pipelines were commissioned in 1984, and bi-annual surveys by the CSIR monitor the environmental impact of industrial and domestic effluent to the marine environment off Richards Bay.
However, there has never been a system whereby contributors to the pipelines are punished for failure to comply with their licence agreements regarding quality and quantity of effluent.
‘There has been unacceptable non-compliance on both pipelines,’ Swaswa Ntlhoro: General Manager Scientific Services told an Mhlathuze Water Effluent Pipeline Forum meeting on Tuesday.
‘There is a need for a system that discourages non-compliance, as historically there have been no consequences for offenders.
‘Our (MW) licence review and application is in progress and it could be revoked if contributors do not comply.
‘Making contributors pay for exceedences is not a revenue-earning exercise; the main objective is to ensure that MW complies with the disposal licence and minimises the impact of the effluent on the environment.
‘Hopefully, less money will be collected over time as compliance improves.’
Penalty system
All industries, including the municipality which disposes domestic waste, are invoiced monthly according to how much waste they contribute to the pipelines.
Their contract with MW also stipulates, among others, the maximum levels of toxic chemicals in the effluent.
The penalty system will be implemented in July – the start of the financial year when tariffs are revised – after consultation ‘in good faith’ with individual contributors.
Composite samples will be taken daily and analysed, and report-back to the contributor will happen within two days so that they will know if they are in penalty range.
Through a ‘Grace Rule’, no penalties will be imposed if the sample result is less than 10% above spec or if the offence occurs four times or less during a month.
A ‘Frequency Rule’ comes into play if this happens more than four times, and a daily penalty will be calculated and totalled.
There will also be a ‘Severity Rule’, whereby the worse the non-compliance in terms of effluent quality, the greater will be the penalty, with the maximum fine being 30% of the monthly invoice amount.
Any daily non-compliance of 20% or more above spec will be penalised and offenders can be fined on both frequency and severity of non-compliance.
Chairperson of the Pipeline Forum, Sandy Camminga, welcomed the new measures.
‘The penalties are sufficient to force contributors to comply and will do a lot to satisfy the general public who are concerned about what enters the marine environment.’
