Grootwitpan Salt
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SCOPING REPORT FOR LISTED ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH MINING RIGHT (Section 102 Application). Grootwitpan Salt SUBMITTED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORIZATIONS IN TERMS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998 AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WASTE ACT, 2008 IN RESPECT OF LISTED ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED BY APPLICATIONS IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA) (AS AMENDED). NAME OF APPLICANT: Industrial Salt (Pty) Ltd TEL NO: 011 864 4900 ext 221 FAX NO: 011 864 5493 POSTAL ADDRESS: 7 Clarke Street South, Alrode 1451 PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 7 Clarke Street South, Alrode 1451 FILE REFERENCE NUMBER SAMRAD: NCS30/5/1/2/3/2/1(219)MR August 2020 Report #: 2758/MR-102/FS IMPORTANT NOTICE In terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act 28 of 2002 as amended), the Minister must grant a prospecting or mining right if among others the mining “will not result in unacceptable pollution, ecological degradation or damage to the environment”. Unless an Environmental Authorisation can be granted following the evaluation of an Environmental Impact Assessment and an Environmental Management Programme report in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998) (NEMA), it cannot be concluded that the said activities will not result in unacceptable pollution, ecological degradation or damage to the environment. In terms of section 16(3)(b) of the EIA Regulations, 2014, any report submitted as part of an application must be prepared in a format that may be determined by the Competent Authority and in terms of section 17 (1) (c) the competent Authority must check whether the application has taken into account any minimum requirements applicable or instructions or guidance provided by the competent authority to the submission of applications. It is therefore an instruction that: the prescribed reports required in respect of applications for an environmental authorisation for listed activities triggered by an application for a right or permit are submitted in the exact format of, and provide all the information required in terms of, this template. Furthermore please be advised that failure to submit the information required in the format provided in this template will be regarded as a failure to meet the requirements of the Regulation and will lead to the Environmental Authorisation being refused. It is furthermore an instruction that: The Environmental Assessment Practitioner must process and interpret his/her research and analysis and use the findings thereof to compile the information required herein. (Unprocessed supporting information may be attached as appendices). The EAP must ensure that the information required is placed correctly in the relevant sections of the Report, in the order, and under the provided headings as set out below, and ensure that the report is not cluttered with un-interpreted information and that it unambiguously represents the interpretation of the applicant. Table of Contents 1 OBJECTIVES OF THE SCOPING PROCESS .............................................................................. 1 2 Contact Person and correspondence address..................................................................... 1 2.1 Details and qualifications of the EAP who prepared the report .................................................1 3 Description of the property ................................................................................................. 1 4 Locality plan ......................................................................................................................... 3 5 Description of the scope of the proposed overall activity. ................................................. 6 5.1 Geology ........................................................................................................................................6 5.2 Reserves & Lifespan .....................................................................................................................6 5.3 Mining Method and Site Layout Plan ..........................................................................................6 6 Listed and specified activities ............................................................................................ 17 7 Description of the activities to be undertaken ................................................................. 22 8 Policy and Legislative Context ........................................................................................... 22 9 Need and desirability of the proposed activities. ............................................................. 23 9.1 Need and desirability analysis .................................................................................................. 23 9.1.1 Securing ecological sustainable development and use of natural resources ............................... 24 9.1.2 Promoting justifiable economic and social development ............................................................ 29 9.2 Cumulative Impact Assessment................................................................................................ 34 10 Period for which the environmental authorisation is required ........................................ 34 11 Description of the process followed to reach the proposed preferred site. .................... 34 12 Details of all alternatives considered. ............................................................................... 34 12.1 Property on which or location where it is proposed to undertake the activity; ...................... 34 12.2 Type of activity to be undertaken; ........................................................................................... 35 12.3 Design or layout of the activity; ............................................................................................... 35 12.4 Technology to be used in the activity; ...................................................................................... 35 12.5 Operational aspects of the activity; ......................................................................................... 35 12.6 Option of not implementing the activity. ................................................................................. 35 13 Details of the Public Participation Process Followed ........................................................ 36 14 The Environmental attributes associated with the site: Baseline Environment ............... 42 14.1 Type of environment affected by the proposed activity. ......................................................... 42 14.1.1 Topography .................................................................................................................................. 42 14.1.2 Visual Impact ................................................................................................................................ 42 14.1.3 Soil ................................................................................................................................................ 42 14.1.4 Pre – Mining Land Capability ........................................................................................................ 43 14.1.5 Natural Vegetation ....................................................................................................................... 44 14.1.6 Animal Life .................................................................................................................................... 46 14.1.7 Surface Water ............................................................................................................................... 46 14.1.8 Ground Water ............................................................................................................................... 46 14.1.9 Air Quality (Dust) .......................................................................................................................... 47 14.1.10 Noise ............................................................................................................................................. 48 14.1.11 Traffic ............................................................................................................................................ 49 14.1.12 Surrounding land use.................................................................................................................... 49 14.2 Description of specific environmental features and infrastructure on the site. ...................... 49 14.3 Environmental and current land use map. ............................................................................... 49 15 Impacts identified .............................................................................................................. 49 16 Methodology used in determining the significance of environmental impacts ............... 62 17 The positive and negative impacts that the proposed activity (in terms of the initial site layout) and alternatives will have on the environment and the community that may be affected. ........................................................................................................................ 63 18 The possible mitigation measures that could be applied and the level of risk. ................ 64 19 The outcome of the site selection Matrix. Final Site Layout Plan ..................................... 66 20 Motivation where no alternative sites were considered. ................................................. 66 21 Statement motivating the