Final Scoping Report: Hamburg Quarry Expansion
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FINAL SCOPING REPORT: HAMBURG QUARRY EXPANSION FINAL Scoping Report HAMBURG QUARRY EXPANSION, R72 BEWTEEN PORT ALFRED AND EAST LONDON, EASTERN CAPE DMR REF: EC 30/5/1/3/3/2/1/00021 BPEM FINAL SCOPING REPORT Prepared for: Prepared by: CES EAST LONDON 6 Stewart Drive Baysville, East London, 5241 087 830 9809 Also in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Maputo (Mozambique) www.cesnet.co.za NOVEMBER 2020 CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services Hamburg Quarry Expansion ii FINAL Scoping Report REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule Document Title: Hamburg Quarry Expansion Client Name & South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Ltd Address: Roland Thompson Baywest Boulevard, Hunters Retreat, Port Elizabeth, 6025 Status: Final Issue Date: Lead Author: Robyn Thomson Reviewer: Alan Carter Study Leader/ Registered Environmental Assessment Alan Carter Practitioner – Approval: No. of hard No. electronic Report Distribution Circulated to copies copies DMR 1 1 SANRAL 1 GIBB 1 Report Version Date November 2020 This document has been prepared in accordance with the scope of CES’s appointment and contains intellectual property and proprietary information that is protected by copyright in favour of CES. The document may therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed to any third party without the prior written consent of CES. This document is prepared exclusively for use by CES’s client. CES accepts no liability for any use of this document other than by its client and only for the purposes for which it was prepared. No person other than the client may copy (in whole or in [email protected] part) use or rely on the contents of this document, without the prior www.cesnet.co.za written permission of CES. The document is subject to all confidentiality, copyright and trade secrets rules, intellectual property law and practices of South Africa. CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services Hamburg Quarry Expansion iii FINAL Scoping Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 SCOPING REPORT REQUIREMENT CHECKLIST ............................................... 1 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT ........................................................................... 3 1.3 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ..................................................................... 5 2 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTIONER ........................................... 6 2.1 DETAILS OF THE EAP .......................................................................................... 6 2.2 EXPERTISE OF THE PROJECT TEAM ................................................................. 7 2.3 EAP DECLARATION ............................................................................................. 8 3 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND ACTIVITY LOCATION ................................ 10 3.1 PROJECT LOCATION ......................................................................................... 10 3.2 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ................................................................................. 12 3.3 LAND OWNERSHIP ............................................................................................. 12 3.4 SITE PHOTOS ...................................................................................................... 14 4 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................ 21 4.1 BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF THE HAMBURG QUARRY ..................... 21 4.2 PROPOSED EXPANSION .................................................................................... 21 5 LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................... 26 5.1 RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION .................................................. 26 5.2 RELEVANT POLICY AND PLANS ....................................................................... 30 5.2.1 National Policy ............................................................................................... 30 5.2.2 Provincial Policy ............................................................................................. 31 5.2.3 Municipal By-Laws and Planning ................................................................... 31 5.3 LISTED ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................ 32 5.4 EIA PROCESS ..................................................................................................... 34 6 NEED AND DESIRABILITY .............................................................................. 35 7 ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................................... 37 7.1 TYPES OF ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................ 37 7.1.1 Fundamental Alternatives .............................................................................. 37 7.1.2 Incremental Alternatives ................................................................................ 37 7.1.3 No-Go Alternative .......................................................................................... 38 7.2 ALTERNATIVES ASSESSED FOR THE HAMBURG QUARRY EXPANSION .... 38 CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services Hamburg Quarry Expansion iv FINAL Scoping Report 8 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ................................................................................ 42 8.1 SITE NOTICE ....................................................................................................... 43 8.2 NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT ....................................................................... 43 8.3 I&AP AND STAKEHOLDER NOTIFICATIONS .................................................... 43 8.4 STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTERED I&APS ......................... 44 8.5 ISSUES RAISED BY I&APS ................................................................................ 44 9 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ......................................................... 46 9.1 CLIMATE .............................................................................................................. 46 9.2 TOPOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 47 9.3 GEOLOGY AND SOILS ....................................................................................... 49 9.4 HYDROLOGY ....................................................................................................... 52 9.4.1 Quaternary Catchment and Water Management Area ................................... 52 9.4.2 Rivers ............................................................................................................ 52 9.4.3 Ecoregions ...................................................................................................... 52 9.4.4 Wetlands ........................................................................................................ 53 9.5 LANDCOVER ....................................................................................................... 58 9.6 VEGETATION ...................................................................................................... 60 9.6.1 SANBI Classification ...................................................................................... 60 9.6.2 FOREST CLASSIFICATION (NFA) ................................................................ 60 9.7 FAUNA ................................................................................................................. 62 9.7.1 Birds .............................................................................................................. 62 9.7.2 Mammals ....................................................................................................... 62 9.7.3 Reptiles .......................................................................................................... 62 9.8 BIODIVERSITY INDICATORS.............................................................................. 62 9.8.1 Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan ................................................ 63 9.8.2 Threatened Ecosystems ................................................................................ 66 9.8.3 Protected Areas ............................................................................................. 66 9.8.4 Floristics ........................................................................................................ 68 9.9 SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE ............................................................................. 68 9.9.1 Population ...................................................................................................... 68 9.9.2 Employment ................................................................................................... 69 9.9.3 Education ....................................................................................................... 69 9.9.4 Living Conditions ........................................................................................... 69 10 PRELIMINARY SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS ........................................................ 70 10.1 CONSERVATION AND SPATIAL PLANNING TOOLS ........................................ 70 CES Environmental and Social Advisory Services Hamburg Quarry Expansion v FINAL Scoping Report 10.2 SENSITIVITY ALLOCATION ................................................................................ 70 11 IMPACT IDENTIFICATION