The quality of Environmental Management Programmes (EMPRs) within the coal mining industry in South Africa

Abstract

Mining operations negatively impact the environment and, as a result, South African legislation requires that, as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment, an Environmental Management Programme (EMPRs) be developed and implemented to manage all the impacts identified. The Coal Mining Sector was selected for this research because of the important role it plays within the South African economy. In this research, the quality of Environmental Management Programmes within the Coal Mining Sector of South Africa was reviewed. Based on Lee and Colley's method for reviewing the quality of Environmental Impact Reports, a review package was developed and used for the evaluation of the quality of the Environmental Management Programmes. According to the results, 62% of the Environmental Management Programmes achieved satisfactory quality grades despite omissions and inadequacies still being present. Distinct areas of weaknesses were found, such as confusion about what is required from an EMPR according to the guidelines and regulations of Department of Mineral Resources. Some EMPRs were generic documents with action plans presented that could not practically manage the impacts identified, and in some cases the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) did not possess the technical knowledge of the mining operation to develop effective action plans to manage the impact identified. All these factors influenced the outcome of the quality evaluation of the EMPRs reviewed.