ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE GOURIKWA TO BLANCO 400KV TRANSMISSION LINE, AND SUBSTATION UPGRADE FINAL SCOPING REPORT & PLAN OF STUDY FOR EIA DEA Reference: 14/12/16/3/3/2/994 February 2017 COMPILED BY: Envirolution Consulting (Pty) Ltd PO Box 1898 Sunninghill 2157 Tel: (0861) 44 44 99 Fax: (0861) 62 62 22 E-mail:
[email protected] Website: www.envirolution.co.za PREPARED FOR: Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Eskom Transmission P.O.Box 1091 Johannesburg 20001 Tel: (011) 800 2706 Fax: 086 662 2236 COPYRIGHT WARNING With very few exceptions the copyright of all text and presented information is the exclusive property of Envirolution Consulting (Pty) Ltd. It is a criminal offence to reproduce and/or use, without written consent, any information, technical procedure and/or technique contained in this document. Criminal and civil proceedings will be taken as a matter of strict routine against any person and/or institution infringing the copyright of Envirolution Consulting (Pty) Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 18 1.1 Project Background 18 1.2 Regulations (2014) guiding the Environmental Scoping Process 19 1.3 Objectives of the Environmental Scoping Report 21 1.4 Project Team 21 1.4.1 Project Applicant 21 1.4.2 Environmental Assessment Practitioner 21 1.4.3 Expertise of the EAP to carry out Scoping procedures 21 1.4.4 Specialists 22 1.4.5 Authority 23 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 24 2.1 Project locality 24 2.2 Project Motivation 26 2.2.1 Need and Desirability 27 2.3 Description of Alternatives 28 2.3.1 No-go 28 2.3.2 Alternatives for