OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

The Act, like its South African equivalent4, provides for national ownership of water and licenses for use of
water. However, unlike the South African law which vests ownership of water in the state, the Zimbabwean act
vests all ownership of water in the President5. Regulation and supervision of water use and issuing of water
permits is carried out by the Catchment Councils6.
Mining and mineral exploration operations retain rights granted to them by the Mines and Minerals Act with
respect to surface water for domestic and brick making purposes and to groundwater7. However, to abstract
water for purposes other than these, a mining operation must apply to the Mining Commissioner of the relevant
mining district for a permit8. The Mining Commissioner shall “transmit the application, together with a report
thereon by a government mining engineer, to the appropriate catchment council”9. This is presumably to
provide for expert recommendations on the mining operation’s needs. Records of the amount of water
abstracted must be maintained10. The abstraction of water in the absence of a permit is an offence punishable
by fine or imprisonment or both11.
The Act also addresses pollution of water. Many mines dispose of large quantities of wastewater: water from
processing, water in slimes and also groundwater pumped out of the mine (Love & Hallbauer, 1999). The Act
requires persons wishing to discharge waste to apply for a permit12. The Water (Waste and Effluent Disposal)
Regulations (SI 274/2000; Appendix 2.3) were promulgated to give effect to this provision, and to replace
regulations from the 1970s13. The 2000 regulations govern disposal of wastewater and disposal of waste into
water and fall under the jurisdiction of Pollution Control Unit (PCU) of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(ZINWA). These regulations require yearly permits for effluent and wastewater that is discharged or disposed of
into any surface water or groundwater14, excepting septic tanks, municipal dumps and agricultural application
of animal manure15. The PCU considers application for permits and may reject the application or award a
permit, specifying effluent standards16. An “environmental fee” is charged per Megalitre of liquid waste
disposed or for solid waste, and is increased for disposal of waste that constitutes a “high environmental
hazard”17.
Permit holders are required to notify the PCU and downstream water users of “any accidental disposal or
discharge of waste or effluent”18. What constitutes “accidental disposal or discharge” is not defined. However,
defining accidents or emergency incidents is very difficult: for example, the relevant South African legislation
4
National Water Act (Act No 36 of 1998), Republic of South Africa
5
Section 3
6
Sections 21 and 22
7
Section 5
8
Section 34(3)
9
Section 34(4)
10
Section 43
11
Section 118(1)(b)
12
Section 69
13
RGN 687/1977
14
Section 5(1)
15
Section 11(1)
16 th
Section 6 and 4 Schedule
17
Section 9(6) and (7)
18
Section 13
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