Scoping Report
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SCOPING REPORT PROPOSED ELOFF PHASE 3 PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT NEAR DELMAS IN MPUMALANGA PROVINCE DOCUMENT DETAILS EIMS REFERENCE: 1245 DOCUMENT TITLE: ELOFF PHASE 3 PROJECT: SCOPING REPORT DMR REFERENCE NUMBER: MP 30/5/1/2/3/2/1 (10169) EM DOCUMENT CONTROL NAME SIGNATURE DATE COMPILED: Nobuhle Hughes 2019/03/27 John von Mayer CHECKED: John von Mayer 2019/04/11 Liam Whitlow AUTHORIZED: Liam Whitlow 2019/06/11 REVISION AND AMENDMENTS REVISION DATE: REV # DESCRIPTION 2019/06/11 ORIGINAL DOCUMENT Scoping Report for Public Review This document contains information proprietary to Environmental Impact Management Services (Pty) Ltd. and as such should be treated as confidential unless specifically identified as a public document by law. The document may not be copied, reproduced, or used for any manner without prior written consent from EIMS. Copyright is specifically reserved. Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 13 1.1 Report Structure ................................................................................................................................. 15 1.2 Details of the EAP ................................................................................................................................ 18 1.3 Expertise of the EAP ............................................................................................................................ 18 2 Description of the Property ......................................................................................................................... 20 2.1 Surrounding Land Uses ....................................................................................................................... 21 2.2 Property Ownership ............................................................................................................................ 21 3 Description and Scope of the Proposed Project .......................................................................................... 24 3.1 Resource Details .................................................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Description of Activities to be Undertaken ......................................................................................... 27 4 Policy and Legislative Context ...................................................................................................................... 39 4.1 Applicable National Legislation ........................................................................................................... 42 4.2 Period for which Authorization is Required ........................................................................................ 59 5 Need and Desirability of the Proposed Project ............................................................................................ 60 5.1 Coal as a Resource............................................................................................................................... 60 5.2 ELOFF Phase 3 Project Benefits ........................................................................................................... 60 5.3 Need and Desirability Analysis ............................................................................................................ 61 6 Project Alternatives ..................................................................................................................................... 80 6.1 Location Alternatives .......................................................................................................................... 80 6.2 Process Alternatives ............................................................................................................................ 82 6.3 Technology Alternatives ...................................................................................................................... 85 6.4 Activity Alternatives ............................................................................................................................ 85 6.5 No-Go Alternative ............................................................................................................................... 86 6.6 Alternative Assessment ....................................................................................................................... 87 7 Stakeholder Engagement ............................................................................................................................. 99 7.1 Legal Compliance ................................................................................................................................ 99 7.2 General Approach to Public Participation ......................................................................................... 100 7.3 Identification of Interested and Affected Parties.............................................................................. 100 7.4 Initial Notification of I&APs ............................................................................................................... 101 7.5 Notification of Availability of Scoping Report ................................................................................... 103 7.6 Public Meeting .................................................................................................................................. 103 7.7 Issues and Reponses ......................................................................................................................... 104 8 Environmental Attributes and baseline ..................................................................................................... 108 8.1 Topography ....................................................................................................................................... 108 8.2 Geology ............................................................................................................................................. 109 8.3 Climate .............................................................................................................................................. 113 8.4 Land Capability .................................................................................................................................. 116 1245 ELOFF PHASE 3 PROJECT: SCOPING REPORT 1 8.5 Land Use Economics .......................................................................................................................... 116 8.6 Transportation, Infrastructure and Traffic ........................................................................................ 118 8.7 Demographics and Employment Statistics ........................................................................................ 119 8.8 Social ................................................................................................................................................. 120 8.9 Cultural and Heritage Resources ....................................................................................................... 121 8.10 Flora .................................................................................................................................................. 128 8.11 Fauna ................................................................................................................................................. 132 8.12 Hydrology (Surface Water) ................................................................................................................ 134 8.13 Wetlands ........................................................................................................................................... 141 8.14 Hydrogeology (Groundwater) ........................................................................................................... 147 8.15 Existing Infrastructure (Blasting and Vibration) ................................................................................ 149 8.16 Visual Resources................................................................................................................................ 152 8.17 Noise ................................................................................................................................................. 155 8.18 Air Quality ......................................................................................................................................... 157 8.19 Climate Change ................................................................................................................................. 166 9 Environmental Impact Assessment ............................................................................................................ 169 9.1 Approach and Methodology ............................................................................................................. 169 9.2 Identification of Impacts ................................................................................................................... 174 9.3 Description and Assessment of Impacts ........................................................................................... 181 9.4 Summary of Preliminary Impacts ...................................................................................................... 254 10 Plan of Study for the Impact Assessment .................................................................................................