Resilient Environmental Solutions cc P. O. Box 90709, Windhoek 76 Dr Frans Indongo St, Windhoek West Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Proposed Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade, Kunene Region Final Scoping Report 17 August 2021 Proponent: Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Environmental Assessment – Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade Final Scoping Report – August 2021 Executive Summary Introduction The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (the Proponent) proposes to upgrade the existing abattoir in Opuwo (hereafter the Opuwo Abattoir) within the Opuwo Townlands in the Kunene Region (the project). the Opuwo Abattoir has been in existence, in its current location, for a few decades. The abattoir has gone through a few active and dormant phases during this period. Informal residential settlement has over the past few decades slowly expanded within a few hundred metres of the abattoir. The abattoir has been dormant for at least several months. The abattoir in its current form requires an upgrade to become operational again and satisfy international health, safety and environmental best practice. Public Consultation The first round of public consultation took place from 13 November 2019 to 5 December 2019. The main issues that were raised during the first round of public consultation are as follows: • Impact of the proposed upgrade on neighbouring property values. • Concern was raised regarding waste management (i.e. wastewater, solid waste) and the potential impact of waste on water and air quality and health. • Concern was raised concerning noise generated by the abattoir activities. • Concern was raised about the ability of the Opuwo Town Council to supply the required water demand. • Concern about the availability of feedstock for the abattoir. The second round of public consultation took place from 25 June 2021 to 9 July 2021. Comments were received from a neighbouring property owner, but none of these comments raised new issues in terms of environmental impacts. The main concerns raised were concerning the adequacy of the first and second round public consultation efforts. All comments received have been responded to and recorded in this report. No critical issues, with the potential to stop the proposed development, were raised during the first or second round of public consultation. Conclusions The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (the Proponent) proposes to upgrade an existing abattoir in Opuwo (the Opuwo Abattoir) within the Opuwo Townlands (the project). ii Environmental Assessment – Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade Final Scoping Report – August 2021 The agriculture sector (particularly livestock) within the NCA requires livestock slaughter facilities to improve the growth of sector. These facilities serve two main functions – firstly they provide necessary health, food safety and environmental protection services in urban centres and secondly, they provide a potentially significant economic opportunity for the health and diversification of local economies and the growth of the agriculture sector. It is therefore both necessary and desirable to upgrade the existing abattoir in Opuwo. Based on the findings of this impact assessment, the following can be concluded with respect to the social environment: • The creation of a few jobs and associated income for Namibians is a positive impact of low-medium significance. • Diversifications of the local economy, with growth of the Namibian agriculture sector and livelihoods are significant positive impacts. • Improved local meat supply, public health and waste management is a significant positive impact. • Impacts associated with health and safety, noise, reduction in neighbouring property values, water demand and waste generation are negative impacts of low or low- medium significance. Mitigation measures and recommendations have been prescribed in this report (and the EMP – Appendix B) to reduce the significance of these key impacts (and others) to acceptable levels. Based on the findings of the impact assessment conducted the following can be concluded with respect to the biophysical environment: • Impacts associated with pollution of water resources, air quality and impact on water availability because of the relatively small scale of the proposed activity, constitute negative impacts of low significance. Mitigation measures and recommendations have been prescribed in this report (and the EMP – Appendix B) to reduce the significance of these key impacts (and others) to acceptable levels. Based on the project information provided by the Proponent and the findings of the impact assessment conducted (including the concerns and comments received from the general public that formed the basis of this report), it can be concluded that that the proposed project may be granted an Environmental Clearance Certificate. The ECC issuance will be on condition that the recommendations and impact mitigation measures in this report and all the provisions in the EMP are adhered to. iii Environmental Assessment – Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade Final Scoping Report – August 2021 The findings of this scoping phase conclude that no further detailed assessments are required. Furthermore, the implementation of the aforementioned recommendations, impact mitigation measures and EMP provisions should be monitored by the Proponent and applicable Competent Authority to ensure that all potential impacts identified in this study and other impacts that might arise during implementation are properly identified in time and addressed. Recommendations It is therefore recommended that an Environmental Clearance Certificate be issued for the proposed Opuwo Abattoir upgrade and its eventual operations, subject to the following recommendations: • All required permits, licenses and approvals for the proposed activity should be obtained as required. • All mitigations listed in Table 7-3 to Table 7-12, and the Environmental Management Plan (Appendix B) should be implemented as stipulated. iv Environmental Assessment – Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade Final Scoping Report – August 2021 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................ viii Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................................... ix Appendices ................................................................................................................................. x Glossary ..................................................................................................................................... xi 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Project Background ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Project Need and Desirability ...................................................................................... 1 1.3 Terms of Reference ..................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Environmental Assessment Process ............................................................................ 2 1.4.1 Registration of Application for Environmental Clearance Certificate .................. 2 1.4.2 The Scoping Phase ................................................................................................ 3 1.5 Assumptions ................................................................................................................ 4 2 Project Team ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 John Pallett .................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Sheldon Husselmann ................................................................................................... 5 3 Project Description ............................................................................................................. 6 3.1 Project Location ........................................................................................................... 6 3.2 The Existing Abattoir and Proposed Upgrade ............................................................. 6 3.2.1 Abattoir Process Areas ......................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Slaughtering Process .......................................................................................... 12 3.3 Construction/Upgrade Phase .................................................................................... 12 3.4 Operation Phase ........................................................................................................ 13 3.4.1 Water .................................................................................................................. 13 3.4.2 Wastewater Treatment ...................................................................................... 13 3.4.3 Energy ................................................................................................................. 14 3.4.4 Road Access ........................................................................................................ 14 v Environmental Assessment – Opuwo Abattoir Upgrade