NGO takes 'big stink' battle to High Court
The row over the ‘rotten egg, big stink’ – said to come from a landfill site adjoining the Durban suburbs of Hillcrest and Shongweni – has intensified, with a fresh legal challenge seeking to compel the relevant Ministers and departments to take action against the site’s owners, waste management company EnviroServ.
According to a News24 report, Upper Highway Air (UHA) – the activist group leading the charge against what is alleged to be a noxious health-threatening smell affecting residents – lodged papers in the KZN High Court (Durban) against the national Minister and DG of Environmental Affairs, the provincial Head of the Department, and the eThekwini Municipality.
It seeks to review a decision to ‘conditionally relax’ a portion of an earlier suspension of the company's licence and compel them to take action against the company ‘to remedy the ongoing pollution, including making directions regarding the need for proper reliable monitoring, full capping and efficient, effective gas extraction and destruction’.
UHA has also instituted proceedings against EnviroServ in the Equality Court, claiming that company employees were harassing residents and using hate speech.
The company is opposing this application.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
