National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998)RegulationsNational Appeal Regulations, 2025Chapter 1: Interpretation and Purpose1. Interpretation |
| (1) | Unless indicated otherwise, in these regulations, a word or expression that is defined in the Act bears the same meaning in these regulations, and in addition— |
means the holder of an office—
| (a) | in the Department; |
| (b) | in the department responsible for mineral resources; |
| (c) | in the provincial department responsible for environmental affairs; or |
| (d) | in the municipal body, |
who administers an appeal on behalf of the appeal authority;
means—
| (a) | the Minister; |
| (b) | the Minister responsible for mineral resources as contemplated in section 43(8) of the Act; |
| (c) | an MEC; |
| (d) | a person delegated the power to decide an appeal; or |
| (e) | a municipal council as contemplated in section 43(1C) and 43(8) of the Act, |
as the case may be;
means any person or organ of state who is entitled to submit an appeal in terms of section 43 of the Act and includes an applicant;
means a person to whom a decision contemplated in section 43 of the Act, has been issued;
means the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2006 published under Government Notice No. R. 385 of 21 April 2006;
means the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2010 published under Government Notice No, R. 543 of 18 June 2010;
“independent”,
in relation to an expert or person appointed as a member of an advisory appeal panel, means—
| (a) | that such a person has no business, financial, personal or other interest in the appeal in respect of which that person is appointed in terms of these regulations other than fair remuneration for work performed in connection with that appeal; or |
| (b) | that there are no circumstances that may compromise the objectivity of that person in performing such work; |
has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 1 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014 (Government Notice No. R 982 in Government Gazette 38282 dated 4 December 2014, as amended); and
means the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998).
| (2) | When a period of days must be reckoned in terms of the regulations, the period must be reckoned as from the start of the day following that particular day to the end of the last day of the period, but if the last day of the period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, that period must be extended to the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, and the period between 15 December to 5 January must be excluded from the reckoning of days. |
| (3) | Where a prescribed timeframe is affected by one or more public holidays, the timeframe must be extended by the number of public holiday days falling within that timeframe. |