Minister pulls chain on City’s poo permits

• Published date: 23 June 2023
• Author: Karen Watkins karen.watkins@acm.co.za
• Publication title: Sentinel News

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, Barbara Creecy, announced on Tuesday June 13 that she had reversed her decision to grant the permits, saying the City’s public participation process was “inadequate, outdated and should be redone”

The permits allow the City to pump raw sewage from three coastal outfalls at Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Green Point. The permit for Hout Bay was issued in 2019 while the permits for Green Point and Camps Bay followed in 2022.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), ActionSA, CapeXit (Cape Independence Party), and activists Stefan Smit and Tracy Satt had appealed against Ms Creecy’s original decision earlier this year to issue further five-year permits to the City.

ActionSA provincial chairperson, Michelle Wasserman, said the appeal had argued that the permits were based on “factually incorrect information; contravened the Marine Living Resources Act; contravened the Bill of Rights including the right to a healthy environment, and there was no evidence that a public participation process or risk assessment was conducted.”

Ms Wasserman said 39 million

litres of raw sewage were being pumped into or adjacent to the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area from the three coastal suburbs every day.

NSRI CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson, a specialist in maritime medicine who lives in Hout Bay, said a public meeting was planned for Hout Bay to present an alternative view to those who said sewage outfalls were acceptable.

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“Hout Bay is in a Marine Protected Area, which makes it illegal to dump anything in the sea. Currently the marine outfall pipe contravenes every piece of environmental legislation. Since I moved to Hout Bay in 1988, Hout Bay has had the most polluted beach.”

Jackie Whales, of the Friends of the Rivers of Hout Bay, said there was much scientific and anecdotal evidence pointing to the detrimental effects that pumping raw sewage into the ocean had on marine life and recreation and health.

“It is totally unsustainable and must change if our ecosystems and therefore people are to survive. The public comments were not taken into consideration before the outfall was installed in 1993 so we are looking forward to having an opportunity to be a part of the public participation and this time we hope our comments will be considered,” said Ms Whales.

Dr Tony Turton, an environmental specialist at the University of Free State, said the authorities were “tone deaf” to the growing risk associated with what...