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Regional Landfill Facility: Environmental Impact Report

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Regional Landfill Facility: Environmental Impact Report ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCESS FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT THE PROPOSED EDEN REGIONAL WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY. DEA&DP REFERENCE NUMBER: EG12/2/3/2-D6/27-1286/09 October 2012 Volume I COMPILED BY: ANÉL BLIGNAUT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS CC. TEL: 021 887 9900 FAX: 08660 79900 CELL: 082 751 9596 E-MAIL: [email protected] PO BOX 12268, DIE BOORD, STELLENBOSCH, 7613 Eden Regional Waste Disposal Facility: Final Environmental Impact Report ii PROJECT DETAILS DEA&DP Reference number: EG12/2/3/2-D6/27-1286/09 Applicant Details: Applicant: Eden District Municipality Contact person: Mr. M Hubbe Postal address: P.O. Box 12, George, 6530 Tel: 044 693 0006 Fax: 044 693 3159 Environmental Assessment Practitioner Details: Anél Blignaut Environmental Consultants Contact person: Anél Blignaut Postal address: P.O. Box 12268, Die Boord, Stellenbosch, 7613 Tel: 021 887 9900 Fax: 08660 79900 Cell: 082 751 9596 E-mail: [email protected] Report Status: Final Environmental Impact Report Reviewed by: Eden District Municipality and PD Naidoo Consulting Engineers (PTY) Ltd. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Anél Blignaut Environmental Consultants (ABEC) October 2012 Eden Regional Waste Disposal Facility: Final Environmental Impact Report iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Anél Blignaut Environmental Consultants (ABEC) was appointed by PD Naidoo & Associates Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd on behalf of the Eden District Municipality (EDM) to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed new regional waste disposal site. Within the Eden District are situated the municipalities of Bitou, George, Hessequa, Kannaland, Knysna, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn. A new regional waste disposal facility is needed as the contract for the disposal of the solid waste from George, Gouritsmond, Knysna and Mossel Bay at the PetroSA waste disposal site near Mosselbay will be expiring, as PetroSA needs the facility for the disposal of their own waste. The size of the PetroSA site has been reduced due to the construction of the Gourikwa Power Station and the extension of the waste disposal site is therefore problematic. PetroSA also indicated to the Eden District Municipality that they do not want to allow the continued disposal of general waste at their site as this is not their responsibility but the responsibility of the Municipality. A negative mapping report and consultation with the proponent has resulted in the identification of three potential sites for the waste disposal facility. The suitability of each site for the disposal of solid waste will be investigated through the Environmental Impact Assessment Process. Need and Desirability The need and desirability of the proposed project has been considered in detail in this EIR. The Municipalities of Bitou, George, Hessequa (Albertina and Gouritsmond), Knysna and Mossel Bay all suffer from a lack of appropriate waste disposal sites to serve in the needs of the community. The individual Municipalities have indicated the need for a regional waste disposal facility. The waste that is currently disposed at the PetroSA waste disposal site cannot continue as stated above due to mainly capacity constraints and also that the responsibility of waste disposal in the region lies with the Municipalities and not with PetroSA. No suitable sites were found east of PetroSA. Project Description The proposed waste disposal facility will serve the Municipalities of Bitou, George, Hessequa (Albertinia and Gouritsmond), Knysna and Mossel Bay and will have a lifetime of approximately 50 years. It is proposed that both general waste and hazardous waste will be disposed on the landfill site. All hazardous waste disposed of at the site will have a low to medium hazard rating. Examples of hazardous waste with low hazard ratings would be solvents and paints generated by the mechanical __________________________________________________________________________________________ Anél Blignaut Environmental Consultants (ABEC) October 2012 Eden Regional Waste Disposal Facility: Final Environmental Impact Report iv and metal industries in the area, as well as waste from the port and fishing industry such as ballast. Sewage sludge from the sewage works may also be disposed of at the site. Provision has been made for a future materials recovery facility, a composting area and an area for the processing of construction and demolition waste (builders’ rubble). Other infrastructure includes roads, storm water pipelines, a leachate storage dam, a contaminated storm water dam, offices, a laboratory, and a weighbridge and security infrastructure. The footprint of the waste site will cover an approximate area of 130-200ha (depending on the site that is selected) and the landfill site itself will reach a maximum height of 12m. Individual cells will be excavated and filled sequentially. Each cell will be designed to last approximately 5 years, depending on the success rate of waste reduction. After about 2-3 years the construction of the following cell will commence. The site will be excavated to a depth of 6m below natural ground level and the landfill will reach a height of 12m above natural ground level. The site will be fenced to prohibit unauthorized entry and to control windblown litter. Unpolluted storm water will be diverted away from the site through a storm water cutoff trench. The landfill cells will be constructed in line with the DWAF’s Minimum Requirements for Waste Disposal by Landfill specified for an H:h and a G:L:B- site. H:h refers to the section of the site that will receive hazardous waste where G:L:B- refers to the section of the site that will receive general waste. The “L” refers to a large site and the “B-“ to the negative water balance of the site, which broadly indicates that no significant leachate production is expected. Alternatives The identification and consideration of alternatives is recognised as required practice in environmental assessment procedures globally. Regulatory requirements in the NEMA EIA Regulations stipulate that “alternatives to the proposed activity that are feasible and reasonable” be considered during the EIA process, at the earliest proposal development stage. The Scoping Phase therefore screens alternatives to derive reasonable and feasible project alternatives to focus the EIA phase in the EIA process. Environmental and technical factors were considered during the site selection process and also the design layout of each of the three proposed sites. The criteria used to provisionally eliminate areas from further consideration were based on the identification of areas with inherent Fatal Flaws as defined in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s (DWAF) Minimum Requirements document (DWAF, 1998). These include the following: __________________________________________________________________________________________ Anél Blignaut Environmental Consultants (ABEC) October 2012 Eden Regional Waste Disposal Facility: Final Environmental Impact Report v Areas in proximity to significant surface water bodies; Sensitive ecological and/or historical areas; Catchment areas for important water resources such as dams; Areas overlying or adjacent to important or potentially important aquifers; Areas overlying or adjacent to major fault zones; Areas with highly permeable soils; Areas associated with steep slopes; and Areas in close proximity to land uses, which are incompatible with waste disposal. Taking the above-mentioned factors into consideration a composite map was compiled which indicates areas suitable for a regional waste disposal site. Subsequent to the completion of the Waste Disposal Site “Window” Identification a site reconnaissance of the areas potentially suitable for a waste disposal site was conducted. The site reconnaissance led to the identification of a number of scenarios for the waste disposal by the EDM. These scenarios needed further investigation in order to determine the economic feasibility of the different transport arrangements for delivering municipal solid waste to the various new regional landfill sites proposed for the Eden District. The study recommended the following: i) That as the existing waste disposal arrangement cannot continue and as one or other of the three alternatives must be implemented, that the development of a new landfill site at Site 1 is the best choice for the Municipalities of Mossel Bay, George, Knysna and Bitou. ii) That waste from Hessequa Municipality should be transported to the potential future site B, with the exception of waste from Albertinia and Gouritzmond which should be transported to Site 1; and iii) That the waste from Calitzdorp should be transported to the upgraded landfill site at Oudtshoorn. Other options that were considered were the co-disposal of general waste with hazardous waste compared to the separate disposal of general and hazardous waste. The objective of the co-disposal of General Waste and Hazardous Waste is to absorb, dilute and neutralize any liquids and to provide a source of biodegradable material in order to encourage microbial activity that will assist in the degradation of hazardous substances. Where co-disposal is properly managed, the landfill surface has more area on which traffic (trucks) can drive. It is proposed to co-dispose liquid and low to moderate level hazardous wastes with general dry wastes on the landfill site. Research has shown that a properly controlled co-disposal operation would be a safe and efficient disposal
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