Regulations for the Use of Water for Exploration and Production of Onshore Naturally Occurring Hydrocarbons that Require Stimulation Including Hydraulic Fracturing and Underground Coal Gasification to Extract and any Activity Incidental thereto that may Impact Detrimentally on the Water Resource, 2024 (NO. 5582 of 2024).

These Regulations, consisting of 17 articles organized into X Chapters and 3 Annexes, aim to protect the water resources to avoid and minimize detrimental and cumulative impacts on them by the controlled activity. They are also referred to as the Unconventional Gas Regulations and apply to all onshore exploration, mining, and production operations for controlled activities that may impact detrimentally on water resources. Applicants intending to explore using hydraulic fracturing, coalbed methane, or Underground Gasification (UCG) must prepare a Baseline Monitoring Plan, outlined in Regulation 4, that determines pre-operation environmental conditions and meets the Minimum Information Requirements. This plan, which includes at least two years of water quantity and quality monitoring for UCG, must be submitted with the water use license application. It is subject to approval by the relevant authorities, and all water quality analyses must be conducted in accredited laboratories.
Chapter 3 concernes prohibited areas, prohibited activities during exploration or production of controlled activities, and restricted areas, and provides for the following (i) exploration and production activities, including directional drilling, are prohibited within 5 km of waterworks, strategic water sources, towns, populated areas, and springs; in heritage and protected sites; and within designated astronomy areas, including a 10 km buffer around radio astronomy stations; (ii) it is prohibited to use water from low-rainfall areas (under 400mm/year) except for limited purposes, dispose of process water without reuse or without proper treatment, improperly store or dispose of sludge and waste, use monitoring boreholes for abstraction, or use banned additives listed in Annexure A in fracturing fluids; (iii) restricted areas for exploration and production activities involving fracturing or UCG include zones within 5 km of municipal wellfields and parts of the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area 1, where activities may only proceed if supported by scientific evidence and approved buffer relaxations in accordance with specified minimum information requirements.
Concerning well designs, they must (i) follow the American Petroleum Institute (API) or relevant standards and be approved with the water use license; (ii) underground coal gasifiers require certified engineering design; (iii) all wells must be decommissioned within 180 days and monitored under a closure plan. The applicant must submit an integrated water and wastewater management plan covering blowout, produced water, flowback, reuse, storage, and waste disposal as part of the water use license application. The 3 Annexes regard (A) prohibited substances that are not allowed as additives to fracturing fluids; (B) well construction standards; (C) water quality limits for discharge into a water resource and/or irrigation with wastewater.