Despite claims and promises of transparency, and despite repeated requests to EnviroServ to disclose, amongst others, the following:
1. What aspects of the compliance notice of 21 October 2016 EnviroServ has appealed against to the Minister;
2. What aspects of the compliance notice or remedial actions contained therein, EnviroServ have accordingly asked be suspended pending the appeal;
3. What methodologies have been agreed by EnviroServ with the DEA regarding the studies EnviroServ were obliged to conduct;
4. What hazardous waste EnviroServ has in fact been receiving for disposal at Shongweni, what the classification of such waste is, what the safety data sheets have indicated regarding risks to human health and how EnviroServ have been treating the waste;
EnviroServ have thus far failed to provide any answers.
EnviroServ have in fact to date failed to specify whether they are prepared to make any of the information sought in point 4 above available at all, regardless of any limitations imposed by them / agreed with the NGO on its wider publication to interested and affected parties.
EnviroServ have up to now even failed to respond with whether it has any special forms it requires the NGO to complete to make the request for the above information formally or whether it is prepared to recognise the NGO’s attorneys requests for information as sufficient.
The DEA have despite promises to respond to formal requests for information, and despite the lapse of the 30 days within which to provide the information sought, also still not yet responded other than to say extensions have been granted to EnviroServ to provide the detailed reports and technical assessments required in terms of the compliance notice and to confirm that it has appealed against certain aspects of the compliance notice and requested portions be suspended, which requests are still being processed.
The DEA have yet to provide any response to why they have not taken steps to consider suspending or withdrawing EnviroServ’s waste management license given the extent of the non-compliance listed in the compliance notice and the nuisance the odour impact is causing.
Why won’t EnviroServ come clean with what parts of the compliance notice it objects to, if its public communications are to the effect that the compliance notice is, for the most part, no more than the remedial / action plan that they had already begun implementing?
Why won’t EnviroServ tell the community what waste is in fact being received, what its classification is, what the known risks to human health accordingly are so the community can investigate whether the odour impact is also responsible for the apparent health impacts?
Why won’t EnviroServ say how it is treating the waste so the community can assess whether there is any adequate treatment at all taking place?
Why won’t EnviroServ just come clean?
Given the above, the NGO has resolved to institute the necessary legal proceedings to address not only the DEA’s deemed refusal to provide information but to address what the NGO has learnt are the logical and obvious shortcomings with the DEA’s monitoring and enforcement efforts against EnviroServ.