5 Avifaunal Specialist Report.Pdf
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BIRD IMPACT ASSESSMENT STUDY: Basic Assessment for the proposed new infrastructure to support the authorised wind energy facilities, near Noupoort, in the Northern Cape Province Report prepared for: Report prepared by: July 2019 Specialist Expertise Curriculum vitae: Chris van Rooyen Profession/Specialisation : Avifaunal Specialist Highest Qualification : LLB Nationality : South African Years of experience : 22 years Key Experience Chris van Rooyen has twenty two years’ experience in the assessment of avifaunal interactions with industrial infrastructure. He was employed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust as head of the Eskom- EWT Strategic Partnership from 1996 to 2007, which has received international acclaim as a model of co-operative management between industry and natural resource conservation. He is an acknowledged global expert in this field and has consulted in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, New Zealand, Texas, New Mexico and Florida. He also has extensive project management experience and he has received several management awards from Eskom for his work in the Eskom- EWT Strategic Partnership. He is the author and/or co-author of 17 conference papers, co-author of two book chapters, several research reports and the current best practice guidelines for avifaunal monitoring at wind farm sites. He has completed around 130 power line assessments; and has to date been employed as specialist avifaunal consultant on more than 50 renewable energy generation projects. He has also conducted numerous risk assessments on existing power lines infrastructure. He also works outside the electricity industry and he has done a wide range of bird impact assessment studies associated with various residential and industrial developments. He serves on the Birds and Wind Energy Specialist Group which was formed in 2011 to serve as a liaison body between the ornithological community and the wind industry. Professional affiliations I work under the supervision of and in association with Albert Froneman (MSc Conservation Biology) (SACNASP Zoological Science Registration number 400177/09) as stipulated by the Natural Scientific Professions Act 27 of 2003. Curriculum vitae: Albert Froneman Profession/Specialisation : Avifaunal Specialist Highest Qualification : MSc (Conservation Biology) Nationality : South African Years of experience : 20 years Key Qualifications Albert Froneman (Pr.Sci.Nat) has more than 20 years’ experience in the management of avifaunal interactions with industrial infrastructure. He holds a M.Sc. degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town. He managed the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) – Endangered Wildlife Trust Strategic Partnership from 1999 to 2008 which has been internationally recognised for its achievements in addressing airport wildlife hazards in an environmentally sensitive manner at ACSA’s airports across South Africa. Albert is recognised worldwide as an expert in the field of bird hazard management on airports and has worked in South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Israel, and the USA. He has served as the vice chairman of the International Bird Strike Committee and has presented various papers at international conferences and workshops. At present, he is consulting to ACSA with wildlife hazard management on all their airports. He also an accomplished specialist ornithological consultant outside the aviation industry and has completed a wide range of bird impact assessment studies. He has co-authored many avifaunal specialist studies and pre-construction 2 monitoring reports for proposed renewable energy developments across South Africa. He also has vast experience in using Geographic Information Systems to analyse and interpret avifaunal data spatially and derive meaningful conclusions. Since 2009 Albert has been a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Registration Number 400177/09) with The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, specialising in Zoological Science. 3 Specialist Declaration I, Chris van Rooyen, as the appointed independent specialist, in terms of the 2014 EIA Regulations, hereby declare that I: . I act as the independent specialist in this application; . I perform the work relating to the application in an objective manner, even if this results in views and findings that are not favourable to the applicant; . regard the information contained in this report as it relates to my specialist input/study to be true and correct, and do not have and will not have any financial interest in the undertaking of the activity, other than remuneration for work performed in terms of the NEMA, the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014 and any specific environmental management Act; . I declare that there are no circumstances that may compromise my objectivity in performing such work; . I have expertise in conducting the specialist report relevant to this application, including knowledge of the Act, Regulations and any guidelines that have relevance to the proposed activity; . I will comply with the Act, Regulations and all other applicable legislation; . I have not, and will not engage in, conflicting interests in the undertaking of the activity; . I have no vested interest in the proposed activity proceeding; . I undertake to disclose to the applicant and the competent authority all material information in my possession that reasonably has or may have the potential of influencing - any decision to be taken with respect to the application by the competent authority; and the objectivity of any report, plan or document to be prepared by myself for submission to the competent authority; . I have ensured that the comments of all interested and affected parties on the specialist input/study were considered, recorded and submitted to the competent authority in respect of the application; . all the particulars furnished by me in this specialist input/study are true and correct; and . I realise that a false declaration is an offence in terms of regulation 48 and is punishable in terms of section 24F of the Act. Name of Specialist: Chris van Rooyen Signature of the specialist: _______________________________ Date: 9 July 2019 4 Executive Summary EDF Renewables wishes to apply for authorisation for a number of additional infrastructure components for the proposed San Kraal Split 1, Phezukomoya Split 1, Hartebeesthoek East and Hartebeesthoek West Wind Energy Facilities (WEFs) through a Basic Assessment process. The components which could potentially impact on avifauna are the following: SKPH-Collector Substation 5km away from Hydra D Expanded San Kraal substation Hartebeesthoek (HBH) East on-site substation San Kraal Split 1 132 kV step-up substation Phezukomoya Split 1 batching plant Phezukomoya Split 1 substation Relocated Hartebeesthoek (HBH) West switching station Additional proposed 132kV overhead lines 400kV turn-in The proposed project will have the following potential impacts on avifauna: Displacement due to habitat transformation in the footprint of the proposed substation and batching plant; Displacement due to disturbance associated with the construction of the proposed substations powerlines and batching plant; Electrocution in the substation yards; and Mortality due to collision with the earth wire of the proposed powerlines. 1.1 Displacement due to habitat transformation Habitat transformation has an impact on birds breeding, foraging and roosting in or in close proximity to the proposed substations and batching plant, which could result in temporary or permanent displacement. Unfortunately, very little mitigation can be applied to reduce this impact as the total permanent transformation of the natural habitat within the construction footprint of the proposed infrastructure is unavoidable. However, due to the nature of the vegetation, and judged by the existing transmission lines, very little if any vegetation clearing will be required in the powerline servitudes. The habitat in the area where the substations and batching plant are planned is very uniform from a bird impact perspective. Therefore the loss of habitat for priority species due to direct habitat transformation associated with the construction of the proposed substations is likely to be fairly minimal. The impact significance is assessed to be Low, both before and after mitigation. The species most likely to be directly affected by this impact would be small, non-Red Data species. Suggested mitigation measures are restricting the footprint to the absolute minimum, no off-road driving, maximum use of existing roads, measures to control dust, restrict access to the rest of the property, and rehabilitation of all areas disturbed. 1.2 Displacement due to disturbance Construction activities in close proximity to breeding locations could be a source of disturbance and could lead to temporary breeding failure or even permanent abandonment of nests. A potential mitigation measure is the timeous identification of nests and the timing of the construction activities to avoid disturbance during a critical phase of the breeding cycle, although in practice that can admittedly be very challenging to implement. Terrestrial priority species namely Ludwig’s Bustard, Karoo Korhaan, Southern Black Korhaan, Blue Crane, Grey-winged Francolin, Melodious Lark and African Rock Pipit 5 are most likely to be affected by displacement due to disturbance. The ground-nesting Black Harrier and cliff-nesters such as Jackal Buzzard and Cape Eagle Owl could also potentially be