Bosveld Phosphate guilty of water pollution

Malapo Country Lodge. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The charges relate to unlawfully and intentionally or negligently causing a situation in December 2013 which led to water containing polluted substances being released into the Selati River which forms one of the tributaries of the Olifants River. The Olifants River eventually flows through the Kruger National Park. The waste water that was released had the potential to cause serious damage, not only to the immediate environment, but also to water resources in Mozambique.

Quick intervention by the authorities was therefore critical. At the time SANParks, together with the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation, ensured that immediate measures were implemented by Bosveld to ensure that the risk to the environment was reduced. These measures included dredging the impoundment facilities to create extra storage capacity and a number of other activities in order to ensure that another spill did not occur. In total, R48m was spent in implementing these measures.

The criminal prosecution of this matter was led by the Green Scorpions of the Department of Environmental Affairs. After a thorough investigation of this matter, Bosveld pleaded guilty to all the charges of pollution between December 2013 and March 2014.

Suspended sentences

In terms of section 34 (1) and (3) of the National Environmental Management Act of 1998, the accused was ordered by the court to pay an amount of R1,45m within 14 days from the date of the sentence, in addition to a number of suspended sentences (fines adding up to an additional R1,1m) for contravention of the National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act.

The Department of Environmental Affairs will use the remedial measure amount for the purpose of proper execution of the Green Scorpions enforcement duties, environmental rehabilitation, enforcement training and also for the benefit of SANParks and the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation.

"The Department of Water and Sanitation, SANParks and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and Tourism have played a key role in advising, supporting and ensuring that emergency measures were implemented during and after the spill incidents," said Albi Modise, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Modise commended the work of the Green Scorpions and further warned that this should serve as a message for would-be offenders and encouraged companies to adhere to legislative provisions.