Okakarara | Townships Establishment
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1 OKAKARARA | TOWNSHIPS ESTABLISHMENT Environmental Scoping Report August 2013 Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 2 COPYRIGHT © ENVIRO DYNAMICS, 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Proposed Townships Establishment of five Townships within The PROJECT NAME Remainder of the Farm Okakarara Townlands No. 517 Draft Scoping Report for Public review STAGE OF REPORT Veiinatobias Organizational and Sustainable Development CLIENT Planners (PTY) Ltd Enquiries: Mr Justus Veii Tel: (061) 402 328 E-Mail: [email protected] Enviro Dynamics LEAD CONSULTANT Enquiries: Sheldon Husselmann Tel: (061) 223-336 E-Mail: [email protected] August 2014 DATE OF RELEASE Sheldon Husselmann, Charlotte Cronje, Carla Saayman, Eddy AUTHORS Kuliwoye, Eloise Carstens Internal Reviewer: Stephanie van Zyl Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 3 DECLARATION I hereby declare that I: have knowledge of and experience in conducting assessments, including knowledge of the Environmental Management Act, its regulations and guidelines that have relevance to the proposed activity; have performed the work relating to the application in an objective manner, regardless of whether or not the views and findings were favourable to the applicant; have complied with the Act, and its regulations, guidelines and other applicable laws. I also declare that there is, to my knowledge, no information in my possession that reasonably has or may have the potential of influencing – any decision to be taken with respect to the application in terms of the Act and its regulations; or the objectivity of this report, plan or document prepared in terms of the Act and its regulations. Stephanie van Zyl Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The Okakarara Town Council formed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with Veiinatobias Organizational and Sustainable Development Planners (Pty) Ltd in 2010 in an effort to plan for the future development of the town of Okakarara. Part of this future planning includes the townships establishment of 5 townships (Portions A-D and 6), within the Remainder of the Farm Okakarara Townlands No. 517. Enviro Dynamics CC has been appointed to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and compile an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the proposed Townships Establishment. The terms of reference for this EIA are as follows: Assessment of the proposed townships to be established; Compilation of an EMP; and Compilation of scoping report. Specialist studies were conducted at a scoping level, which was sufficient to address the impacts identified. The following studies were conducted: Hydrogeological study – Mr P Botha; Air quality study – Dr M Zunckel; and Baseline tree survey – Mr J Hausiku. Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 5 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The town of Okakarara is growing and in need of sustainable town planning for projected future growth. The layout of the 5 townships proposed for establishment are displayed in the map below. The proposed townships will consist of the following land use designations: Portion D (Extension 6) – Predominantly industrial land use, with some business erven and public open space; and Portions 6, A, B and C – Predominantly residential land use with some business, public open space and institutional as well. The majority of Portion D consists of erven zoned “Industrial” (approximately 197) and erven zoned “Business” (approximately 81). A significant part of the concept for Portion D is to define a new entrance into the town. It should be noted that the Okakarara Town Planning Scheme does not make a distinction between land for light and heavy industry. Although a Public Open Space corridor has been designated for the length of the stretch of the Omatako River, which runs through Portion D, the lower reaches of the river will run through erven zoned as “industrial”. According to the Town Planning Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 6 Scheme all erven zoned “Industrial” may as a “Primary Use” have “industrial buildings” constructed on them. Portions A, B and C consist of a total of approximately 417 erven zoned “Residential 1”, while Portion 6 has approximately 272 residential erven. The Town Planning Scheme defines three zonings for residential land use – “Residential 1”, “Residential 2” and “General Residential”. Only “Dwelling Units” may be constructed on these erven at densities of 1:600m², 1:300m² and 1:200m² respectively. An extensive road network will be constructed for each of the 5 portions, with each tailored to fit the needs of the various land uses. Standard services (potable water, sewerage and electricity networks) will be supplied to each of these portions by the local authority and maintained by the same authority. The Roads Authority (RA) is considering relocating the section of the MR0117 running through the CBD south as well as deproclaiming of the district road DR3827 (which will mean this road will become one of the internal roads of Okakarara). No business erven are permitted on any of the RA roads. The state of the current sewage treatment facility (located within Portion D) is unsustainable and in need of upgrading. A concept design proposal for a new closed- system sewage treatment facility has been compiled and submitted to the Otjozondjupa Regional Council for consideration. The power demand (excluding 25 MW required for the new sewage treatment facility, which will supply its own energy needs) is expected to rise by 4-7 MW over the next 2-8 years. The demand for water is expected to triple within the next 3-5 years. LEGAL AND BASELINE REQUIRMENTS A thorough review of relevant legal instruments has been conducted. The most relevant legal provisions are in the form of the Water Act 54, the Road Ordinance 1972, the Public Health Act 36, and the Forest Act 12. A concise description of the baseline conditions of the receiving environment has been provided, informed by specialists’ scoping studies where relevant. Key sensitivities and potential impacts for relevant aspects of both the socio-economic and biophysical environment have been highlighted. Key sensitivities were identified in the fields of ground and surface water, air quality, vegetation, and resettlement and compensation. Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 7 ISSUES IDENTIFIED SO FAR THEME ISSUE The contamination of surface and groundwater. GROUND AND SURFACE WATER Residential erven located downwind of the proposed industrial centre and sewage AIR QUALITY treatment plant will be exposed to poor air quality and odour nuisances The loss of biodiversity and the removal of protected plant species. VEGETATION The traditional land use for proposed development area is livestock farming which is RESETTLEMENT AND the major source of income for Okakarara. COMPENSATION PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Public participation was carried out in a standard accordance contained within the EIA Regulations. Various stakeholders were identified at national, regional and local levels and their input requested. Particular effort was exerted to involve stakeholders at a local level – those living in and around the project area. Based on the comments received during the public meeting, the main issues that the stakeholders were concerned about were the compensation for the loss of agricultural land, the potential air and water pollution, and the loss of protected tree species. IMPACT ASSESSMENT The issues identified in the environmental baseline and during the public participation process are assessed using a range of assessment criteria. The application of these criteria uses a balanced consideration of duration, extent, and intensity/magnitude, modified by probability, cumulative effects, and confidence in order to determine significance. Mitigation measures are outlined for each impact. RECOMMEDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS The next steps to be taken in terms of administrative and legal arrangements as well general planning preparations are as follows: In an effort to streamline environmental assessment associated with future development activities within these 5 proposed townships, future development guidelines have been compiled as part of the EMP for these townships. This scoping report has identified and assessed the most significant impacts within these 5 townships at a strategic level and as such it is not necessary that all future Proposed Okakarara Townships Establishment Draft Scoping Report for Public Review August 2014 8 development activities, within these townships should be subject to a scoping level assessment, or full EIA. Activities listed under the column “Permissible activities requiring approval for EMP from DEA” within the “Development Guidelines” table within the EMP should therefore only be subject to the following provisions of the EIA Regulations: o Section 8(j) which details the requirements for an EMP; o Section 18, which details the Environmental Commissioner’s decision; and o Sections 19 and 20, which detail provisions pertaining to the amendment and transfer of an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC). The activity specific EMPs, compiled for the aforementioned activities, should be submitted to the DEA for review and if deemed