36. Identification and notification of investigation areas

  1. The Minister, or the MEC in respect of an area which affects the relevant province, may, after consultation with the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry and any other organ of state concerned, by notice in the Gazette, identify as investigation areas-
    1. land on which high-risk activities have taken place or are taking place that are likely to result in land contamination;
    2. land that the Minister or MEC, as the case may be, on reasonable grounds believes to be contaminated.
  2. A notice under subsection (1) by the Minister applies nationally, and a notice under that subsection by the MEC applies to the relevant province only.
  3. Before publishing a notice under subsection (1), or any amendment to the notice, the Minister or MEC, as the case may be, must follow a consultative process in accordance with sections 72 and 73.
  4. Subsection (3) need not be complied with if the notice is amended in a non-substantive manner.
  5. An owner of land that is significantly contaminated, or a person who undertakes an activity that caused the land to be significantly contaminated, must notify the Minister and MEC of that contamination as soon as that person becomes aware, of that contamination.
  6. Despite subsection (1), the Minister or MEC may issue a written notice to a particular person identifying specific land as an investigation area if the Minister or MEC on reasonable grounds believes that the land is or is likely to be contaminated.