By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases Sasol won an appeal over how emissions are calculated at its Secunda plant, preventing an interruption to chemical and fuels production in a ruling environmentalists argued will cause additional pollution.
Sasol lodged an appeal on July 31, 2023, after National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) published a determination on July 11, 2023, stating that it was not empowered to grant permission to Sasol to apply an alternative limit for SO2 after a once-off postponement had already been granted to the Secunda operations.
Environment Minister Barbara Creecy, however, upheld Sasol’s appeal that it be permitted to switch to regulating emissions on a so-called alternative-emission load basis, instead of current concentration-based limits.
The 17 Secunda boilers are currently operating on the basis of a ten-year postponement, until March 31, 2025, in the meeting of new plant standards for SO2 emissions, which was granted on February 23, 2015.
Sasol requested that it be allowed to reduce its SO2 emissions by reducing the total number of boilers in use at Secunda and thus the load, rather than by reducing the concentration of SO2 produced by each boiler.
NAQO argued that the load-based limit did not comply with the concentration-based limits prescribed in the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) and could, thus, not be considered.
Sasol stated in its appeal that the Minister was empowered to consider a fresh 12A application under the National Enviromental Management: Air Quality Act.
The group argued in its appeal that this approach would result in an improvement of ambient air quality within the local airshed over and above MES compliance, while ensuring that its operations continued. It said a refusal would result in it winding down the Secunda Operations.
On April 5, the Minister upheld Sasol’s appeal and set aside the decision of the NAQO.
In a statement, Sasol said the Minister concluded that its application met all the requirements of Clause 12A, and replaced the NAQO’s decision by permitting that a load-based limit of 503 t/d of SO2 be applied from April 1, 2025, up to March 31, 2030.
“We will engage with the Minister to finalise the regulatory requirements for the decision to take full effect, following which our atmospheric emission license will have to be varied accordingly,” the company added.
Just Share, which opposed Sasol’s appeal, said the upholding of Sasol’s appeal would result in emissions significantly above those permitted by the MES, which the organisation said were already weaker than comparative standards around the world.
“This decision means that the government has permitted a private company to set its own pollution limits, making a mockery of pollution laws and constitutional rights, and of any claim by the government to take public health seriously,” Just Share added.
Creecy noted that those dissatisfied with the decision had the right to apply to a competent court within 180 days to have the decision judicially reviewed.
Sasol shares gained as much as 6.6%, the most since January 2023, and traded 5.6% higher by 12:50 p.m. in Johannesburg.