Small boilers producing less than 50 MW of thermal power are now regulated under sections 23 and 24 of the National Environ- mental Management Air Quality Act No 39 of 2004 and must comply with the emissions standards set out in the amended Act, says Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa.
“Small boilers are small-scale emissions sources that, as a result of their technological limitations, the scale of population and their operation at close proximity to residential dwellings, pose a significant risk to human health and the environment,” she says.
To safeguard the right to an environment that is safe for health and wellbeing, there is a need for the close monitoring and control of these emitters, as industrial and domestic boilers, among others, were identified as significant sources of pollution, she adds.
Boilers with capacity below 50 MW had been regulated by the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, Part 3: Atmospheric Pollution by Smoke, but this has been repealed, resulting in the department providing new regulatory direction to local government and the regulated community on the status of boilers with respect to emissions control.
The cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg have successfully enforced fuel-burning appliances by-laws. Specific consultations with the cities were conducted to draw from and use their experience to draft the Section 23 Notice that was presented and discussed for four months by the South African Bureau of Standards Technical Committee on Air Quality.
The department also established the emissions standards so that boilers, declared as controlled emitters, can meet the specified emissions standards to be manufactured, sold or operated in South Africa as required by Section 24 of the Air Quality Act. The department believes that all these require- ments have been met, concludes Molewa.