Introduction

The Department of Human Settlement, Water and Sanitation core mandate is to ensure that the country’s water resources are protected, managed, used, developed and controlled through regulating the delivery of effective water supply and sanitation. All these objectives are managed by the National Water Act of 1998 (NWA of 1998), this Act and related regulations ensures that water resources of our country are sufficiently regulated and monitored for sustainable use of water.

The Chief Directorate Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement functions are to coordinate and monitor compliance with legislation (primary & secondary) standards. This also includes water use entitlement conditions and regulations across all sectors, including resource directed measures, dam safety and solid waste regulations as indicated in the NWA of 1998. Compliance Monitoring: Industries has been tasked with development of Unconventional Gas Regulations. These Regulations will seek to protect water resources in terms of section 26(1)(g) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) read together with Government Notice 999 (Government Gazette No: 39299). The Government Notice 999 (Government Gazette No: 39299) declared the unconventional gas activities, which include shale gas extraction, Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), Coalbed Methane (CBM) extraction, and other similar activities, as controlled activities under Section 21 (e) of NWA (1998) by Minister using section 38 (1) (4) of the NWA (1998). The controlled activity in question includes the “the exploration and/or production of onshore naturally occurring hydrocarbons that requires stimulation, including but not limited to hydraulic fracturing and/or underground coal gasification, to extract, and any activity incidental thereto that may impact detrimentally on the water resources”.