Environmental inspections at industrial sites continue to find "a wide range of contraventions", Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said in Pretoria on Wednesday.

"Inspections continue to detect non-compliance related to exceedances [sic] in emissions, illegal waste sites and contraventions of conditions across the range of authorisations," Sonjica said releasing the 2009 National Compliance and Enforcement Report, according to a statement from her office.

"While commitment to address these issues has been received in response to the inspection findings, with fairly drastic measures in some cases, enforcement action needs to be stepped up."

Blitz on sector

Sonjica said a blitz on the cement sector identified dust pollution as the major problem.

"Following the inspections, management of all nine facilities committed to addressing this issue, for instance by upgrading air pollution abatement equipment and further investigating possible fugitive dust emission sources, as well as measures to minimise air pollution."

A number of steps were in motion to address the many challenges in effectively enforcing environmental laws.

A meeting between Sonjica and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe in September had resulted in the decision to move forward with the re-establishment of environmental courts.

Fight against environmental crime

"Officials within the relevant departments are now working on the details and processes which will be submitted to the ministers for consideration. It is envisaged that the establishment of dedicated courts would have a profound impact on the fight against environmental crime."

The commencement of new legislation such as the NEM: Waste Act and the various Environmental Laws Amendment Acts during 2009 should now provide additional tools to ensure effective enforcement and compliance monitoring.

The amendments have resulted in an increase and standardisation of maximum penalties for environmental offences, from hundreds of thousands of rands to five years in jail, or R5-million for a first offence and 10 years, or R10-million for a second or subsequent offence.

Increase in cases

According to the report, which provides an overview of environmental compliance and enforcement activities, 2412 criminal dockets were registered between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, compared with 1762 in the previous reporting period. A total of 258 convictions were obtained for the period, compared with 748 in the previous reporting year.

"This decrease in convictions is a cause for concern, particularly in light of the increase in the total number of criminal dockets registered during the year under review," the statement read.

"Many cases have experienced substantial delays within the prosecution system, confirming the urgent need for dedicated courts to deal with these types of cases."

The amount of money paid in relation to section 24G administration fines more than doubled, from about R6.8-million to nearly R15.5-million for the year. The fines are paid as part of the administrative process to rectify the illegal activities.