An environmental authorisation is the legal permission you need, under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) and its 2014 EIA Regulations, before you may start any activity "listed" as having a potential impact on the environment. Building a road, clearing indigenous vegetation, constructing a facility over a certain size, abstracting water at scale, or opening a mine can all trigger the requirement, and starting without one is a criminal offence.
The process runs on one of two tracks. Lower-impact listed activities go through a Basic Assessment. Higher-impact activities go through a full Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA). Both must be run by an independent, registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP), both include public participation, and both are decided by a competent authority: the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), a provincial environmental department, or the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) for mining-related activities.
This page sets out what triggers an environmental authorisation, Basic Assessment vs full EIA, the EAP's role, public participation, cost, timelines, and how it links to mining rights, water use licences and building plan approval. If you would rather Insika run the process for you, we can.
What triggers an environmental authorisation
An environmental authorisation is triggered by "listed activities", activities the Minister has identified, by Gazette notice, as likely to affect the environment. These sit in three listing notices under the 2014 EIA Regulations:
- Listing Notice 1 - lower-impact activities requiring a Basic Assessment, such as facilities above a certain size, vegetation clearing over a threshold area, and various infrastructure and processing facilities.
- Listing Notice 2 - higher-impact activities requiring a full Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment, such as larger developments and certain mining and refining activities.
- Listing Notice 3 - activities that only trigger a Basic Assessment because of where they happen, in sensitive areas identified per province such as critical biodiversity areas, coastal zones, wetlands or protected area buffers.
Whether your project needs an environmental authorisation depends on matching the activity, its scale and its location against these three lists. One project can trigger several listed activities at once, so the assessment usually needs to be scoped by a specialist before you know exactly what you are applying for.
Basic Assessment vs Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment
The 2014 EIA Regulations set two distinct tracks, and which one applies is fixed by the listing notice your activity falls under, not by choice.
Basic Assessment (Listing Notice 1 and 3)
A single-phase process for activities whose impacts are relatively well understood. The EAP compiles a Basic Assessment Report covering the activity, the affected environment, alternatives, public participation and proposed mitigation, then submits it to the competent authority in one step.
Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (Listing Notice 2)
A two-phase process for higher-impact activities. Scoping identifies the issues, alternatives and specialist studies needed, and results in a Scoping Report the competent authority must accept before phase two. The full impact assessment then runs the specialist studies (ecological, heritage, soil, noise, air quality, hydrology), assesses the significance of impacts, and results in an Environmental Impact Report with an Environmental Management Programme.
An S&EIA takes longer, costs more and involves more specialist input than a Basic Assessment, because it is reserved for activities the regulations treat as having greater potential for harm.
The role of the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP)
NEMA requires the person who manages an environmental authorisation application, the EAP, to be independent of the applicant with no financial interest in the outcome beyond being paid for the work. Since 8 August 2022, only EAPs registered with the Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa (EAPASA), the registration authority under section 24H of NEMA, may lawfully conduct and submit environmental assessments in South Africa.
The EAP typically:
- Screens the site and activity against the listing notices to confirm which track applies.
- Compiles the Basic Assessment Report, or manages the scoping and full EIA phases and specialist studies.
- Runs, or oversees, the public participation process.
- Prepares the Environmental Management Programme setting the conditions you must operate under once authorised.
- Submits the application and manages correspondence with the competent authority.
Because the EAP must be independent, appointing one is not simply hiring a consultant of your choice. Insika appoints a registered EAP for your matter and manages the relationship, so you deal with one point of contact.
How to apply for an environmental authorisation step by step
The steps below describe the typical path from a project concept to a decision. The detail differs between a Basic Assessment and a full Scoping and EIA, but the sequence is broadly the same.
- Screen the activity and appoint an EAP
Match the activity and site against Listing Notices 1, 2 and 3 to confirm whether, and which, environmental authorisation is required, then appoint an independent, EAPASA-registered EAP.
- Submit the application
The EAP lodges the prescribed application with the competent authority, with the application fee, identifying the activity, the site and whether a Basic Assessment or Scoping and EIA process will follow.
- Basic Assessment, or scoping and specialist studies
For a Basic Assessment, the EAP compiles the report directly. For a Scoping and EIA, a Scoping Report must be accepted first, then specialist studies (ecological, heritage, soil, noise, air quality, hydrology) feed into the full report and draft Environmental Management Programme.
- Public participation
Interested and affected parties are notified, registered and given the chance to comment on the draft reports before they are finalised, as described below.
- Submission and decision
The finalised report is submitted to the competent authority, which weighs the application, specialist input and any objections, then grants or refuses authorisation, usually with conditions.
- Appeal window
Once a decision is issued, an applicant or registered I&AP has 20 days under the National Appeal Regulations to lodge an internal appeal before the decision becomes final.
Public participation in the EIA process
Every environmental authorisation application, Basic Assessment or full EIA, must include public participation. NEMA requires that people and organisations affected by, or interested in, the activity get a genuine opportunity to know about the application and comment before a decision is made.
In practice this generally includes:
- Site notices posted at and near the proposed activity.
- Written notification to landowners, neighbours, ward councillors and relevant organs of state.
- Newspaper notices, where the audience is wider or the site is not easily identifiable.
- A register of interested and affected parties (I&APs) kept informed and given draft reports to comment on.
- A defined comment period on the draft reports before each is finalised.
Comments and objections must be recorded and responded to in the final reports. A public participation process that is rushed, poorly documented, or misses genuinely affected parties is one of the most common grounds on which authorisations are later challenged.
How much does an environmental authorisation cost
There is no single fixed price. Cost depends on whether you need a Basic Assessment or a full Scoping and EIA, how many specialist studies the activity requires, the size and sensitivity of the site, and how extensive public participation needs to be. The figures below are indicative, for budgeting, and are not a quote.
| Item | Indicative cost |
|---|---|
| Basic Assessment application fee | R2 000 |
| Scoping and EIA application fee | R10 000 |
| EAP fees (Basic Assessment) | R30 000 - R100 000 |
| EAP and specialist fees (Scoping & EIA) | R100 000 - R400 000+ |
| Specialist studies (ecological, heritage, soil, noise, air quality, hydrology) | R10 000 - R100 000+ per study |
| Public participation (notices, newspaper ads, I&AP database) | R5 000 - R30 000 |
| Insika professional fee (indicative) | from R100 000, typically R100 000 - R500 000 depending on scale and study requirements |
How long does an environmental authorisation take
The 2014 EIA Regulations set legislated processing timeframes, but these run from a properly accepted application and exclude pre-application preparation, so build in extra time on both ends.
- Basic Assessment: commonly around 3 to 6 months from a complete, accepted application to a decision, though the fully legislated process can extend to around 7 months.
- Scoping and EIA: materially longer, commonly 9 to 18 months, because it runs in two phases with a competent authority review in between, plus specialist studies that can themselves take months, especially where they need to cover a full season.
- Accelerated tracks: renewable energy projects in designated Renewable Energy Development Zones and Strategic Infrastructure Projects can get a fast-tracked decision around 57 days once accepted.
What extends the timeline: an incomplete application, objections during public participation, specialist studies that need redoing, requests for further information, and any appeal once a decision is issued.
Environmental authorisation and mining, water use and construction
Environmental authorisation rarely stands alone. It is the gateway requirement that other approvals depend on, or run alongside.
- Mining and prospecting. Under the "One Environmental System", an environmental authorisation is a prerequisite to a mining or prospecting right being granted under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, with the DMRE as competent authority for mining-related activities. See our mining rights service if your project needs both.
- Water use. Dam construction, water abstraction, and activities within a watercourse or its riparian zone also trigger a water use licence under the National Water Act. It is a separate application to a different regulator, but the two are usually run together because they assess overlapping impacts on the same site.
- Construction and property development. Larger developments, and anything in a sensitive area under Listing Notice 3, need environmental authorisation before building plan approval and municipal approvals can be finalised. Confirm the environmental trigger early in the design process.
Because these processes interlock, Insika coordinates the environmental authorisation alongside any related mining right, water use licence or building plan approval your project needs.
Documents you will need
The exact document list depends on whether you are pursuing a Basic Assessment or a full Scoping and EIA, and on what the site and activity require, but most applications call for the documents below.
Starting an activity without environmental authorisation
Commencing a listed activity without the required environmental authorisation is a criminal offence under NEMA. The competent authority can issue a compliance notice or a directive to stop the activity immediately, and in serious cases the matter can be referred for prosecution, with penalties that include substantial fines and, in principle, imprisonment for the responsible persons.
NEMA does provide a rectification process, commonly referred to by its section number in the Act, for activities that were unlawfully commenced without authorisation, but rectification is not a shortcut. It requires a full retrospective assessment, an administrative fine may still be imposed, and there is no guarantee the activity will be authorised after the fact. It is materially cheaper, faster and lower risk to secure the environmental authorisation before you break ground.
Official sources
This guide is based on the current rules published by the relevant South African authorities. Always confirm the latest fees and requirements with the office that applies to you.