Draft Eia Report: for the Proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province
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DRAFT EIA REPORT: FOR THE PROPOSED RING ROAD IN ERMELO, MSUKALIGWA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE DEA REFERENCE NUMBER: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544 NEAS REFERENCE NUMBER: DEA/EIA/0001842/2013 04 NOVEMBER 2015 ILA Contact Persons: Mazolo Dube Shalini Chetty Karen Botes Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] FOREWORD Interdesign Landscape Architects (Pty) Ltd (ILA) would like to thank all Interested and Affected Parties (I&AP’s) for their participation and input into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process for the Route determination and preliminary design for the new proposed ring road in Ermelo. In order to give effect to the principles of integrated environmental management laid under Chapter 1 of the National Environmental Management Act, this EIA process seeks to ensure the proposed development is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Central and key to ensuring this is effective public participation and engagement. As Independent Environmental Assessment Practitioners, ILA is required in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations to 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. In order to ensure transparency and objectivity, registered interested and affected parties are entitled to comment, in writing, on all written submissions, including draft reports made to the competent authority by the applicant, and to bring to the attention of the competent authority any issues, which that party believes, may be of significance to the consideration of the application. The comments received from I&AP’s to date have proven valuable to this process and we do appreciate your time and effort. However, the majority of comments received up to date, proved to have been approached as a petition, with invalid names and contact details, and a repetition of the same comments. This does not contribute to the process, as the principal objective of public participation is to inform and enrich decision-making. You are therefore encouraged to provide us with relevant and substantiated inputs and concerns, as the amount of comments and repetition of comments will not contribute to the process. We can only respond to genuinely made comments that are relevant to the proposed development. ILA therefore invites all I&AP’s to review this Draft EIA Report and we urge you to provide us with your comments. You can contact us directly at (012) 348 1922 for further information or clarity. Comments can either be e-mailed to us at [email protected] or faxed to (012) 348-7154. There is also a comments register attached to all hard copies of this Draft EIA Report, which has been made available for Public Review, please feel free to place your comments on these registers as well. We look forward to your inputs and comments. Mazolo Dube Karen Botes Environmental Assessment Practitioner Director Page | ii Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] DRAFT EIA REPORT DESCRIPTION Applicant: South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited [SANRAL] Report title: Draft EIA Report for the Route Determination and Preliminary Design of the proposed ring road in Ermelo Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province Competent Authority and reference number: National Department of Environmental Affairs [DEA] DEA Reference number 14/12/16/3/3/2/544 Legal: This Draft EIA Report has been prepared in terms of the requirements of Regulations 31, 32, & 33 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 18 June 2010 as per Government Notice R 543. Report compiled by: Reviewed and approved by: __________________________ __________________________ Mazolo Dube Karen Botes Date: 28 October 2015 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE We declare that we act as independent environmental assessment practitioners for this application, with no affiliation with or vested financial interests in the proponent other than for work performed in terms of the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 2010 and the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998). We have no conflicting interests in the undertaking of this activity and have no interest in secondary developments resulting from the possible authorisation of this application. Remuneration for our professional services rendered is not dependent on approval by any decision-making authority responsible for © authorisingInterdesign Landscape this application. Architects We [ILA] undertake [All rights to reserved]. disclose No to partthe ofcompetent this document authority may be any reproduced material orinformation utilised other thanthat for has its intendedor may havepurpose the as potential part of this to formalinfluence EIA theprocedure decision without of the the competent prior written authority consent orof ILAthe objectivity of any report, plan or document required in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998); ___________________________ 28 October 2015 Signed Date Page | iii Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] DETAILS OF THE APPLICANT AND PROJECT TEAM DETAILS OF THE APPLICANT South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited [SANRAL] Private Bag X 17 Lynnwood Ridge 0040 Tel: (012) 426 6200 Email: [email protected] DETAILS OF THE PROJECT ENGINEERS AECOM SA (Pty) Ptd Contact Person: Mr Lukas Raath 263A West Ave, Centurion 0157 Tel: (012) 421 3642 Email: [email protected] DETAILS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER (EAP) Interdesign Landscape Architects (Pty) Ltd (ILA) Contact persons: Mazolo Dube/ Karen Botes P.O. Box 74648 LYNNWOOD RIDGE 0040 Tel: (012) 348-1922 Fax: (012) 348-7154 Email: [email protected] Refer to Appendix 1 for the EAP’s expertise. Page | iv Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] DETAILS OF THE CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND SPECIALISTS The compilation of this Draft EIA Report was dependent on the input of a multi-disciplinary team including specialists from the fields of social, economic, noise, ecological, heritage, agriculture, and engineering. COMPANY SPECIALIST ENGINEERING AECOM Route Determination and Road Design AECOM Traffic Surveys AECOM Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation Geotech Ltd Geophysical and drilling investigations for the undermined areas SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Strategic Environmental Focus [SEF] Social Impact Assessment Demacon Market Studies Economic Impact Assessment DB Acoustics [DBA] Noise Impact Assessment Dr Johnny van Schalkwyk Heritage and Cultural Resources Impact Assessment BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Eco-Agent CC Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment EXIGO Wetland Delineation & Assessment EXIGO Agricultural Potential Assessment Page | v Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] ABBREVIATIONS ADT: Average Daily Traffic ADLT: Average Daily Light Traffic ADTT: Average Daily Truck Traffic AECOM (SA): A multidisciplinary engineering firm, responsible for the design of the Ermelo Ring Road BA Process: Basic Assessment Process DEA: Department of Environmental Affairs [Competent Authority] DEIAR Draft Environmental Impact Report DMR: Department of Mineral Resources DOPW: Department of Public Works DSR: Draft Scoping Report DWA: Department of Water Affairs EA: Environmental Authorisation EAP: Environmental Assessment Practitioner EBA: Ermelo Business Association EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment EIAR: Environmental Impact Assessment Report EMPr: Environmental Management Programme EWT: Endangered Wildlife Trust FSR: Final Scoping Report HV: High Volume IAIA: International Association of Impact Assessment I&AP’s: Interested and/or Affected Parties ILA: Interdesign Landscape Architects (Pty) Ltd MDEDET: Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism MDPWRT: Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport MDARDLA: Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration MTPA: Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency NEMA: National Environmental Management Act NEMBA: National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act NEMPAA: National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act NEMWA: National Environmental Management: Waster Act OD: Origin-Destination SAHRA: South African Heritage Resources Agency SACLAP: South African Council for the Landscape Architectural Profession SANRAL South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited SEF: Strategic Environmental Focus SIA: Social Impact Assessment Page | vi Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] SMP: Stormwater Management Plan TIA: Traffic Impact Assessment WMP: Waste Management Plan WWTW: Waste Water Treatment Works WULA: Water Use License Application Page | vii Draft EIA Report: For the proposed Ring Road in Ermelo, Msukaligwa Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province [DEA Project Reference Number: 14/12/16/3/3/2/544] GLOSSARY OF TERMS Alien Vegetation: is defined as undesirable