Draft Basic Assessment Report
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Draft Basic Assessment Report BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT KROONSTAD FARMER PRODUCTION SUPPORT UNIT FEZILE DABI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY, FREESTATE PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA Prepared By: Environmental Management Group P.O. Box 28242, Danhof, 9310 June 2018 Basic assessment report in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2010, promulgated in terms of the National EnvironmentalPrepared Management For: Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), as amended. Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (For official use only) 1 BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT DESTEA Ref No: NEAS Ref No: Application Number: Date Received: Kindly note that: 1. This basic assessment report is a standard report that may be required by a competent authority in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2010 and is meant to streamline applications. Please make sure that it is the report used by the particular competent authority for the activity that is being applied for. 2. The report must be typed within the spaces provided in the form. The size of the spaces provided is not necessarily indicative of the amount of information to be provided. The report is in the form of a table that can extend itself as each space is filled with typing. 3. Where applicable tick the boxes that are applicable in the report. 4. An incomplete report may be returned to the applicant for revision. 5. The use of “not applicable” in the report must be done with circumspection because if it is used in respect of material information that is required by the competent authority for assessing the application, it may result in the rejection of the application as provided for in the regulations. 6. This report must be handed in at offices of the relevant competent authority as determined by each authority. 7. No faxed or e-mailed reports will be accepted. 8. The report must be compiled by an independent environmental assessment practitioner. 9. Unless protected by law, all information in the report will become public information on receipt by the competent authority. Any interested and affected party should be provided with the information contained in this report on request, during any stage of the application process. 10. A competent authority may require that for specified types of activities in defined situations only parts of this report need to be completed. 2 BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT SECTION A: ACTIVITY INFORMATION Has a specialist been consulted to assist with the completion of this YES NO section? If YES, please complete the form entitled “Details of specialist and declaration of interest” for appointment of a specialist for each specialist thus appointed: Any specialist reports must be contained in Appendix D. 1. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION Describe the activity, which is being applied for, in detail1: Environmental Management Group has been appointed by SMEC South Africa for the Department: Rural Development and Land Reform to conduct the Basic Assessment application of the Kroonstad Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSU). The FPSU is a rural outreach unit connected with the Agri-Hub. It focusses on primary collection, storage, processing, and extension services including mechanization. The proposed Kroonstad FPSU will consist of the following: • Security offices • Reception and admin offices & Multi-purpose training centre • Retail space and tourism facility • Storage units / facilities for mobile units (include a cold storage) • Multi-purpose animal handling facilities for training • Multi-purpose animal handling – buildings • Logistic centre with training and workshop • Feed store/ Pack House • 500 Cattle feedlot The main concept of the Kroonstad FPSU is to provide essential and efficient farmer support services and training to developing farmers in the Moqhaka Local Municipal area. These support and training services will focus on the agricultural commodities and input requirements identified in the farmer needs assessment and is also based on the main commodities identified in the Fezile Dabi Agri-Park Master Business Plan, which is red meat, poultry (chicken), and maize. The FPSU will also incorporate private sector businesses, forums, union, and other stakeholders to assist with training and the provision of support services. The FPSU envision to provide the following key elements in terms of support to the local farmers: • Information Services • Input support • Mechanisation Support • Facilities 1 Please note that this description should not be a verbatim repetition of the listed activity as contained in the relevant Government Notice, but should be a brief description of activities to be undertaken as per the project description. 3 BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT • Training • Market intelligence The FPSU is set to be located within Kroonstad within the Moqhaka Local Municipality of the Fezile Dabi District Municipality. The FPSU site is located on the right-hand side of the R76 provincial road, approximately 5 km north-west of the Kroonstad Central Business District. The location of the FPSU site was chosen for its proximity to the commonage and smallholder farmers in the region. The distance from the Kroonstad FPSU to the Parys Agri- Hub is approximately 98 km when driving from the R721 provincial road. The proposed site has a relatively flat topography. The site was used for agricultural activities, such as grazing and dryland farming. There are no existing buildings on the site and some areas are fenced with a stock fence, installed by the neighbouring owners. There are other small holdings with resident buildings surrounding the proposed site. There is no water supply dedicated to the proposed FPSU site, however there is Municipal water supply pipeline that service the community in Meadows and currently there is no existing bulk water sewer line, and electricity point dedicated on site. The proposed layout falls within close proximity to wetland areas. Relevant specialists were consulted to conclude the status of the wetlands. The wetlands were also delineated to avoid any construction inside the wetlands. The proposed site in The Meadows Small Holding is currently leased from the department by the local farmers. The cattle feedlot will start off as a 200 unit feedlot and expand to a 500 unit feedlot. The mortality rate is estimated to be below 3%. All mortalities will be supplied to surrounding game farm owners as feed for their predators. The waste of the feedlot is to be collected from the holding pens and drained into the retention pond. The retention pond consists of 2 dams lined with impenetrable layers. Effluent will be collected into the first dam where solid waste will sink to the bottom and grey water will flow over into the second pond. This grey water will be used for irrigation purposes on surrounding rangelands. Once the first dam full of solid waste, it will be cleaned and sold to nurseries as compost. The first dam will only be full after approximately 10 years. The dry manure will be stockpiled at the manure stockpile section, which will be lined and covered to prevent flies from breeding in the stockpile. The manure will be sold to local farmers and nurseries as garden compost. The feedlot will be cleaned on a monthly basis to prevent dust, smell and manure form accumulating in the holding pens. The secondary wetlands situated in close proximity will be clearly demarcated to prevent heavy machinery form entering the wetland areas. It will also be maintained form alien invasive encroachment throughout the lifespan of the project. 2. FEASIBLE AND REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES “alternatives”, in relation to a proposed activity, means different means of meeting the general purpose and requirements of the activity, which may include alternatives to— (a) the property on which or location where it is proposed to undertake the activity; (b) the type of activity to be undertaken; 4 BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT (c) the design or layout of the activity; (d) the technology to be used in the activity; (e) the operational aspects of the activity; and (f) the option of not implementing the activity. Describe alternatives that are considered in this application. Alternatives should include a consideration of all possible means by which the purpose and need of the proposed activity could be accomplished in the specific instance taking account of the interest of the applicant in the activity. The no-go alternative must in all cases be included in the assessment phase as the baseline against which the impacts of the other alternatives are assessed. The determination of whether site or activity (including different processes etc.) or both is appropriate needs to be informed by the specific circumstances of the activity and its environment. After receipt of this report the competent authority may also request the applicant to assess additional alternatives that could possibly accomplish the purpose and need of the proposed activity if it is clear that realistic alternatives have not been considered to a reasonable extent. Paragraphs 3 – 13 below should be completed for each alternative. 5 BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT 3. ACTIVITY POSITION Indicate the position of the activity using the latitude and longitude of the centre point of the site for each alternative site. The co-ordinates should be in degrees and decimal minutes. The minutes should have at least three decimals to ensure adequate accuracy. The projection that must be used in all cases is the WGS84 spheroid in a national or local projection. List alternative sites, if applicable. Latitude (S): Longitude (E): Alternative: Alternative S12 (preferred