The City of Cape Town has adopted an Environmental Management Systems and Audit Protocol that assists relevant service units and staff to comply with conditions of approval and to improve the environmental management component of their overall management systems.
The Environmental Compliance Unit focuses on various projects, most of which are aimed at ensuring coordinated and integrated input of environmental information into the City’s Spatial Development Framework and the associated eight District Spatial Development Plans.
Key initiatives:
- The City has drafted 8 new Spatial Development Plans, with integrated Environmental Management Frameworks. These were made available for public comment in late 2009 and have been revised.
- A compliance strategy has been developed to put in place the necessary information, skills, guidelines, planning, operating and monitoring and reporting systems to ensure environmental compliance is achieved. The strategy includes a number of tools, including:
- Aspects and Impacts registers for various City departments
- An Environmental Law Framework, which is due to be updated and revised to include City by-laws
- Environmental awareness training as well as training in Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Audit Procedures for City staff
- Establishment of a city-wide EIA Forum as well as improved monitoring of City Environmental Impact Assessment applications through development of a Sharepoint tracker
- A Commenting Protocol to enable a uniform and co-ordinated approach to obtaining and submitting integrated comment on applications submitted in terms of the National Environmental Management Act and the Minerals & Petroleum Resources Development Act.
- A briefing guideline for Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs), outlining the procedures for obtaining City of Cape Town comment on Environmental Impact Assessment and Mining and Prospecting Applications. [Feb. 2013, PDF 1.8 MB]
The Environmental Compliance Unit is also coordinating and participating in initiatives aimed at addressing the need for a more proactive response to sand mining applications. A particular emphasis is being place on ensuring that applications for mining on City land also proceed through the Land Use Planning Ordinance requirements.
A further project that has been finalised is the updating of the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Management Programme (EMP) Specifications. The specifications set out the environmental controls that need to be incorporated into tender documents and applied on site. They have been going through a process of review to bring them in line with revised environmental legislation and also make them more accessible and understandable for those who use them.
The City of Cape Town Environmental Management Programme (EMP) Specifications are made up of the following documents:
EMP 1: Standard Environmental Specification (Revision 2007) [PDF 280KB]
This is a relatively short generic specification covering aspects typically applicable to all projects, regardless of location, nature or scale.
EMP 2: Detailed Environmental Specification (Revision 2007) [PDF 420KB]
This specification provides a detailed library of potential issues that may need to be covered in the Project Specification, depending on the nature of the site and the anticipated construction activities. The person compiling the Project Specification should review the list of specifications in the detailed Environmental Specification and select only those specifications relevant to the project at hand from this.
EMP 3: Standard Revegetation Specification (Revision 2007) [PDF 420KB]
This specification contains clauses that are generally applicable to the planting and establishment of vegetation on slopes, fills, cuts, borrow pits, road reserves or other areas needing revegetation.
EMP 4: Detailed Revegetation Specification (Revision 2007) [PDF 440KB]
This specification provides detailed re-vegetation specifications and must be adapted to the requirements of the specific project to be undertaken. It includes new information (not in the previous re-vegetation specification), including species lists to guide in the selection of plants for re-vegetation purposes.
The specifications are supplemented by a set of guideline documents:
EMP 5: Guideline Document for the Contractor (Revision 2007) [PDF 274KB]
This guideline outlines the role of the contractor in the implementation of the EMP and also explains the key requirements of the EMP.
EMP 6: Guideline Document for the Environmental Officer and the Engineer’s Representative (Revision 2007) [PDF 1.1MB]
This guideline gives details on the roles and responsibilities of the Environmental Officer and/or Environmental Representative with regard to the implementation of the EMP. It also provides a selection of checklists that may be used for monitoring environmental performance.
EMP 7: Incorporation of Environmental Specifications into Tender Documents: Guidelines for Document Preparation (Revision 2007) [PDF 1MB]
This guideline describes how the specifications should be incorporated into the Tender document.
EMP 8: Management Staff Handout (Revision 2007) [PDF 1MB]
This document gives a general introduction to and explanation of the EMP in relation to contract documents. It also explains the EMP in relation to the relevant legislation.
For further information, contact:
Mr Keith Wiseman
Tel: +27 (0)21 487 2283
Fax: +27 (0)21 487 2255
E-mail: keith.wiseman@capetown.gov.za
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