IN THE WATER TRIBUNAL APPEAL NO: WT 03/17/MP HELD AT PRETORIA In the appeal of: ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FIRST APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT SECOND APPELLANT MPUMALANGA LANDBOU/ AGRICULTURE THIRD APPELLANT AND DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DEPARTMENT FIRST RESPONDENT OF WATER AND SANITATION ATHA-AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD SECOND RESPONDENT APPEAL DECISION DATES HEARD: 26 March 2018; 24-26 July 2018; 23-26 October 2018, and 5 December 2018. DATE OF DECISION: 22 May 2019. APPEARANCES Panel: Prof. T. Murombo – Additional Member (Chair). Ms. L. Mbanjwa – Deputy Chairperson. Mr. F. Zondagh – Additional Member. For 1st and 2nd Appellants: Adv. P. Kennedy with Adv. Du Toit instructed by Ms. C. Horsfield of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER). For 3rd Appellants: No appearance. For 1st Respondent: Adv. K. Moroka SC with Adv. M. Mathapuna – instructed by the State Attorney, Pretoria. For 2nd Respondent: Adv. M. Oosthuizen with Adv. J. Rust – instructed by Mr. F. Joubert of GF Joubert Attorneys. Page 1 of 147 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION AND FACTS OF THE APPEAL ........................................................... 3 GROUNDS OF APPEAL ............................................................................................ 10 HISTORY CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 16 APPROACH TO THE EVIDENCE ............................................................................... 31 SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE ADDUCED BY THE PARTIES. ........................................... 32 FIRST & SECOND APPELLANTS’ WITNESSES ............................................................. 33 ANDREW JOHNSTONE ............................................................................................ 33 LE MAÎTRE ................................................................................................................. 50 CHRISTINE COLVIN .................................................................................................. 58 FIRST RESPONDENT’S WITNESSES............................................................................. 66 HASINA ABOOBAKER .............................................................................................. 66 SECOND RESPONDENT’S WITNESSES .................................................................... 71 THABISO MOSES NENE ............................................................................................ 71 PRAVEER TRIPATHI ................................................................................................... 75 SECOND RESPONDENT’S EXPERT WITNESSES ....................................................... 78 PETER JOHANNES SMIT ............................................................................................ 78 FREDERIK STEFANUS BOTHA (FANIE BOTHA) ......................................................... 84 STEPHEN VAN STADEN ............................................................................................ 86 KAI WITTHÜSER.......................................................................................................... 88 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS....................................................................................... 94 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................... 95 RULINGS ON THE GROUNDS OF APPEAL ............................................................. 103 Other relevant considerations ............................................................................ 135 The adequacy of mitigation measures ............................................................. 137 Financial provision for post-closure plan ........................................................... 139 ORDER .................................................................................................................... 146 Page 2 of 147 INTRODUCTION AND FACTS OF THE APPEAL 1. This is an appeal by the First to Third Appellants against a decision by the First Respondent to issue a Water Use License (hereafter ‘WUL’) (Ref: WUL05/W51A/ACFGIJ/4726) to the Second Respondent. The WUL was issued on 7 July 2016. The WUL authorizes the second respondent to conduct specified water use activities associated with coal mining at Yzermyn underground coal mine, situated outside Wakkerstroom, in the Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, Republic of South Africa. The original appeal was lodged on 15 December 2016 and amplified a year later on 1 December 2017. 2. The First and Second Appellants are civil society non-profit environmental organisations. The Third Appellants are the provincial affiliates of AgriSA in the province. They host 35 Farmers' Associations across Mpumalanga promoting farmers interests. 3. The proposed Yzermyn Coal Mine will cover the farms Goedgevonden 95 HT; Portion 1 of Kromhoek 93 HT; Remainder of Kromhoek 93 HT; Portion 1 of Yzermyn 96 HT; and Zoetfontein 94 HT. Both the underground mine and the surface infrastructure corresponds to several water bodies including streams, rivers, springs, and wetlands of various limnology. Among them are channelled valley wetlands, which are valley-bottom wetlands with river channels running through them; and seep wetlands, which are on sloping land dominated by the unidirectional movement of water. Page 3 of 147 4. The area covered by the farms is not a pristine environment in the strict sense of the word. It has been previously disturbed by various anthropogenic activities ranging from crop cultivation, other forms of agriculture, tourism, and historical mining. 5. The appeal was first set down for hearing for on 13 to 15 November 2017. The Notice of Set Down had been issued by the Registrar of the Tribunal on 27 October 2017 (14 days’ notice). The Appellants remonstrated against the 14 days’ notice which fell short of the 21 days prescribed by the Rules of the Water Tribunal. However, it was the Appellants that had been putting considerable pressure on the Chairperson of the Tribunal to set down the appeal as a matter of urgency. On 23 November 2017 the Appellants again requested the Register to set the appeal down for hearing as a matter of urgency. They suggested dates in February 2018. The Registrar issued the second Notice of Set Down on 1 March 2018 for 26 to 28 March 2018. Soon thereafter on 5 March 2018 the Appellants objected to the 26 to 28 March 2018. The Panel set on 28 March 2018 to hear arguments on the postponement application as every other party to the appeal was ready to proceed. A separate ruling was issued after that hearing in which we dismissed the application for postponement and struck the matter off the roster of pending cases. Page 4 of 147 6. Reverting to the facts of the appeal, the WUL granted to the Second Respondent authorized the water uses listed below subject to conditions as contemplated by section 21 of the National Water Act (hereafter ‘the NWA’) read with the specific Annexures containing the special conditions.1 The authorized water uses were: section 21(a)- taking water from a water resource; section 21(c)- impeding or diverting the flow of water in a watercourse; section 21(f)- discharging waste or water containing waste into a water resource through a pipe, canal, sewer or the conduit; section 21 (g)- disposing of waste in a manner which may detrimentally impact on a water resource; section 21(i) -altering the bed, banks course or characteristics of a watercourse; and section 21(j)- removing, discharging or disposing of water found underground.2 7. The water uses in specific detail entail the following: 7.1. impeding or diverting the flow of water in a watercourse (section 21(c) of the NWA) and altering the bed, banks, course or characteristics of a watercourse (section 21(i) of the NWA) pursuant to the construction and operation of the mine and associated infrastructure, including, amongst others: 7.1.1. the construction and operation of underground mining activities and voids on various wetland systems on farms comprising the underground mining area; 7.1.2. the partial destruction of a wetland system on Yzermyn 96 HT: Portion 1 (the surface infrastructure area) pursuant to the construction and operation of a pollution control dam (“PCD”) system; 1 File Number 2, p1365-1415 complete Water Use Licence. 2 File Number 2, p1365-1366 authorised water uses. Page 5 of 147 7.1.3. the construction and operation of surface infrastructure within 500 metres of various wetland systems on Yzermyn 96 HT: Portion 127 (the surface infrastructure area); 7.1.4. the construction and operation of borehole pipelines through various wetland systems on Yzermyn 96 HT, Yzermyn 96 HT: Portion 1, Kromhoek 93 HT, Goedgevonden 95 HT and Vaalbank 74 HT; 7.1.5. the construction and operation of various berms (artificial ridges or embankments),canals, pipelines and clean- and dirty-water flo-drains (drainage systems) through and/or within 500 metres of various wetland systems on Yzermyn 96 HT: Portion 1 (the surface infrastructure area); and 7.1.6. the construction and operation of two access roads through and/or within 500 metres of various wetland systems on Yzermyn 96 HT: Portion 1 (the surface infrastructure area); 7.2. discharging waste or water containing waste into a water resource through a pipe, canal, sewer or other conduit (section 21(f) of the NWA) and disposing of waste in a manner which may detrimentally impact on a water resource (section 21(g) of the NWA) (both of these related to wetlands in the surface infrastructure