Free State launches emissions portal

30th September 2015 By: Megan van Wyngaardt - Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

Free State launches emissions portal

Photo by: Bloomberg

A South African atmospheric emission licensing and inventory portal (SAAELIP) was launched in addition to the existing 102 government-owned monitoring stations by Free State Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Sam Mashinini, on Wednesday.

Comprising the system for national atmospheric emission licensing (SNAEL) and the national atmospheric emission inventory system (NAEIS), the portal aimed to propel transparent air-quality governance and improve service delivery.

The SAAELIP was aimed at air quality management by the regulator and the regulated community, enabling licensing and reporting of emissions online.

The SNAEL and NAEIS systems also formed part of government’s objectives outlined in the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act and advanced the Department of Environmental Affairs’ goal of implementing systems and tools for effective and efficient air-quality management.

The portal would allow licensing authorities across all spheres of government to process, issue and manage atmospheric emission licences online and manage online submissions of emission reports and emission inventories, as well as compile local, provincial and national emissions profiles of significant polluters from all sectors.

Further, the portal would allow the regulated community to submit applications for atmospheric emission licences online, track the status of their applications and submit compliance and inventory reports, while the public would be able to search for facilities issued with atmospheric emission licences, as well as those whose licences were being considered.

The public would also be able to access the NAEIS and download the latest report.