Mine water management policy position: draft for external consultation and discussion

The Department of Environmental Affairs has published the Mine water management policy position: draft for external consultation and discussion. "The purpose of this policy document is to provide the position of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on mine water management, including AMD. To provide measures on protection of water resources from prospective, operational and historical mine activities that have negative quality impacts.

The mine water management policy sets out the policy principles that strive to strengthen the protection of the water resources from mine water contamination from short to long term. The policy principles enshrined herein are informed by the current legislative framework on water resource management. It further proposes an integrated departmental approach to mine water management: where legislative gap /s exists, this policy provides relevant and appropriate legislative remedy in order to strengthen a proactive mine water management approach."