| (a) |
"incident" means an unexpected, sudden and uncontrollable release of a hazardous substance, including from a major emission, fire or explosion, that causes, has caused or may cause significant harm to the environment, human life or property; |
[Section 30(1)(a) substituted by section 13(b) of Act No. 30 of 2013]
| (b) |
"responsible person" includes any person who— |
| (i) |
is responsible for the incident; |
| (ii) |
owns any hazardous substance involved in the incident; or |
| (iii) |
was in control of any hazardous substance involved in the incident at the time of the incident; |
| (c) |
"relevant authority" means— |
| (i) |
a municipality with jurisdiction over the area in which an incident occurs; |
| (2) |
Where this section authorises a relevant authority to take any steps, such steps may only be taken by— |
| (a) |
the person referred to in subsection (1)(c)(iv) if no steps have been taken by any of the other persons listed in subsection (1)(c); |
| (b) |
the person referred to in subsection (1)(c)(iii) if no steps have been taken by any of the persons listed in subsection (1)(c)(i) and (c)(ii); |
| (c) |
the person referred to in subsection (1)(c)(ii) if no steps have been taken by the person listed in subsection (1)(c)(i): |
Provided that any relevant authority may nevertheless take such steps if it is necessary to do so in the circumstances and no other person referred to in subsection (1)(c) has yet taken such steps.
| (3) |
The responsible person or, where the incident occurred in the course of that person's employment, his or her employer must forthwith after knowledge of the incident, report through the most effective means reasonably available— |
| (a) |
the nature of the incident; |
| (b) |
any risks posed by the incident to public health, safety and property; |
| (c) |
the toxicity of substances or by-products released by the incident; and |
| (d) |
any steps that should be taken in order to avoid or minimise the effects of the incident on public health and the environment to— |
| (i) |
the Director-General; |
| (ii) |
the South African Police Services and the relevant fire prevention service; |
| (iii) |
the relevant provincial head of department or municipality; and |
| (iv) |
all persons whose health may be affected by the incident. |
| (4) |
The responsible person or, where the incident occurred in the course of that person's employment, his or her employer, must, as soon as reasonably practicable after knowledge of the incident— |
| (a) |
take all reasonable measures to contain and minimise the effects of the incident, including its effects on the environment and any risks posed by the incident to the health, safety and property of persons; |
| (b) |
undertake clean-up procedures; |
| (c) |
remedy the effects of the incident; |
| (d) |
assess the immediate and long-term effects of the incident on the environment and public health; |
| (5) |
The responsible person or, where the incident occurred in the course of that person's employment, his or her employer, must, within 14 days of the incident, report to the Director-General, provincial head of department and municipality such information as is available to enable an initial evaluation of the incident, including— |
| (a) |
the nature of the incident; |
| (b) |
the substances involved and an estimation of the quantity released and their possible acute effect on persons and the environment and data needed to assess these effects; |
| (c) |
initial measures taken to minimise impacts; |
| (d) |
causes of the incident, whether direct or indirect, including equipment, technology, system, or management failure; and |
| (e) |
measures taken and to be taken to avoid a recurrence of such incident. |
| (6) |
A relevant authority may direct the responsible person to undertake specific measures within a specific time to fulfil his or her obligations under subsections (4) and (5): Provided that the relevant authority must, when considering any such measure or time period, have regard to the following— |
| (b) |
the severity of any impact on the environment as a result of the incident and the costs of the measures being considered; |
| (c) |
any measures already taken or proposed by the person on whom measures are to be imposed, if applicable; |
| (d) |
the desirability of the state fulfilling its role as custodian holding the environment in public trust for the people; |
| (e) |
any other relevant factors. |
| (7) |
A verbal directive must be confirmed in writing at the earliest opportunity, which must be within seven days. |
| (a) |
the responsible person fail to comply, or inadequately comply with a directive under subsection (6); |
| (b) |
there be uncertainty as to who the responsible person is; or |
| (c) |
there be an immediate risk of serious danger to the public or potentially serious detriment to the environment, |
a relevant authority may take the measures it considers necessary to-
| (i) |
contain and minimise the effects of the incident; |
| (ii) |
undertake clean-up procedures; and |
| (iii) |
remedy the effects of the incident. |
| (9) |
A relevant authority may claim reimbursement of all reasonable costs incurred by it in terms of subsection (8) from every responsible person jointly and severally. |
| (10) |
A relevant authority which has taken steps under subsections (6) or (8) must, as soon as reasonably practicable, prepare comprehensive reports on the incident, which reports must be made available through the most effective means reasonably available to— |
| (b) |
the Director-General; |
| (c) |
the South African Police Services and the relevant fire prevention service; |
| (d) |
the relevant provincial head of department or municipality; and |
| (e) |
all persons who may be affected by the incident. |
| (11) |
[Section 30(11) deleted by section 13(c) of Act No. 30 of 2013]. |
National Small Business Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996)
