Pre-directive issued to City for False Bay Nature Reserve, Zeekoevlei

The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning has issued the City of Cape Town with a Pre-Directive pertaining to pollution in the False Bay Nature Reserve.

The City has seven days to make representations as to why a Directive in terms of Section 28 of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), should not be issued. The Pre-Directive further indicated that the City provides a rehabilitation plan with adequate remedial measures, amongst other instructions, in order to prevent and/or minimize the pollution within the False Bay Nature Reserve.

Anton Bredell, the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, says a team of Provincial “Green Scorpions” conducted an investigation into reports of pollution in the False Bay Nature Reserve on 8 July.

“Our Environmental Management Inspectors confirmed that significant pollution of the environment has been caused as a result of a faulty manhole leaking sewerage into the False Bay Nature Reserve. This resulted in the decision to issue the City with this Pre-Directive and if necessary, a Directive may follow.”

Bredell says if a Directive is issued, the City will be ordered to contain or prevent the movement of pollutants or the cause of the degradation, eliminate any source of the pollution or degradation and remedy the effects of the pollution or degradation.

“Failure to comply with a Directive is an offence and a person convicted of such an offence is liable to a fine not exceeding R10 million or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment. We believe it will not come to that and we call on the City to urgently remedy the situation before we have to issue a directive.”

The Province will continue to monitor the situation.