[ad_1]
Shocking charges against Eskom regarding serious environmental crimes at the Kendal power plant have come to light following a request for information by the Center for Environmental Rights (CER) under the Law on Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA).
The charges against Eskom are made in a call Compliance notice issued on December 10, 2019 in terms of the National Environmental Management Law (NEMA) of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), headed by Minister Barbara Creecy.
The charges relate to the alleged failure of Eskom Kendal Power Station to comply with the provisions of the law since 2015 regarding its particulate emissions into the atmosphere. The PAIA request submitted by CER on February 3, 2020 requested a copy of the Notice of Compliance, as well as a number of other documents related to maintenance and decommissioning plans at Kendal and other Eskom coal-fired power plants.
The Compliance Notice issued by DEFF requires Eskom to shut down two 600 MW generating units (Units 1 and 5) at the Kendal power plant within 30 days until further notice. In addition, the Notice requires Eskom to submit an “Action Plan” compiled by a duly qualified independent specialist indicating the steps that will be taken to ensure that the remaining four units (Units 2, 3, 4, and 6) operate within the conditions of your emission licenses to the atmosphere.
The date for Eskom to comply with the demands of the Notice of Compliance was later extended by DEFF at Eskom’s request from January 10, 2020 (i.e. 30 days from December 10, 2020) to January 31, 2020. Meanwhile, Minister Barbara Creecy has since suspended the enforcement action while considering Eskom’s objections and request to oppose the Compliance Notice, a procedure allowed under NEMA.
The Compliance Notice reveals Eskom’s claims that after a four-month shutdown due to maintenance and rectification work on the Kendal 1 Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) on November 2, 2018, the unit had subsequently been operating with Particulate emissions below the mandatory limit of 100 mg / Nm3 after re-synchronizing with the grid on March 29, 2019.
DEFF denies this and says that Kendal Unit 1, by contrast, exceeded the mandatory limit for all months after the four-month ESP maintenance and repair closure detailed above, reaching particulate emissions as high as 1,312 mg / Nm3 after from being re-synchronized after shutdown.
DEFF goes on to say that the data submitted by Eskom regarding Kendal Unit 5 is a “serious misrepresentation of the facts”, and that Eskom knowingly and deliberately applies a miscalculation methodology in its submissions that “puts all the data presented and the claimed [emission] reductions in question. “
DEFF further concludes that “to date [10 December 2019] none of the commitments / action plans submitted to the Department have resulted in any of the units [at Kendal] comply with the 100 mg / Nm3 limit “and that” the Department does not believe that the current action plans will result in compliance. “
To date, Eskom has not yet provided the action plan requested by DEFF in its Compliance Notice. Unit 1 at Kendal was again retired for ESP repairs in January / February 2020, and is now back in service, with Eskom still claiming that it is operating below its 100 mg / Nm3 limit for particulate emissions. Kendal Unit 5 has been inactive since January 2020, undergoing a major ESP upgrade and other opportunistic maintenance. Kendal Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 are currently in operation, with Unit 5 still undergoing major repairs, and Unit 6 is due to return to service in May 2020.
Meanwhile, premature deaths and the serious negative health effects of particulate emissions (PM2.5 and PM10) and toxic gases (NOx and SO2) in poor residents, workers and communities as a result of burning coal in Kendal and other Eskom coals- Power plants in Mpumalanga continue unabated.
A recent study commissioned by Eskom himself indicates that burning coal in its power plants has a significant impact on health and more than 300 premature deaths a year. Therefore, it is clear that individuals, families and communities in Mpumalanga and beyond suffer significant damage from Eskom pollution, including chronic diseases and loss of life, ability to work and income.
The Compliance Notice issued by DEFF refers to a specific offense listed in Section 51 (1) (g) of the Air Quality Act, namely that “a person is guilty of a crime if that person provides false information or misleading an air quality officer. ” In this case, it appears that Eskom allegedly sent false and misleading information to the DEFF Directorate: Air Quality Management.
The Compliance Notice also specifically lists and warns Eskom about a number of other crimes Eskom may be subject to. These include: breach of the compliance notice; breach of a condition or requirement of your air emission license; and the emission of pollutants in concentrations above the limits specified in your air emission license.
The Compliance Notice further warns that a person convicted of a crime referred to in Section 51 of the Air Quality Act is subject to a fine not to exceed R10 million rand, or imprisonment for a period not to exceed ten years , or both the fine and the prison. .
Now Read: Exclusive Eskom CEO Interview
[ad_2]
