PROPOSED IRRIGATION SCHEME EXPANSION PROJECT, STAMPRIET, HARDAP REGION SCOPING REPORT (INCLUDING IMPACT ASSESSMENT) Prepared for: Tristone Business Trust Client Ref: Stampriet Irrigation EIA SSLR Project No: 733.20070.00001 Revision No: Final Month/Year: March 2019 Tristone Business Trust 733.20070.00001 Proposed Irrigation Scheme Expansion Project, Stampriet, Hardap Region March 2019 DOCUMENT INFORMATION Title Proposed Irrigation Scheme Expansion Project, Stampriet, Hardap Region Scoping Report (Including Impact Assessment) Project Manager Gerhard Jacobs Project Manager e-mail [email protected] Author Immanuel Katali Reviewer Alex Pheiffer Keywords Stampriet, Irrigation, Scheme, Water Abstraction, Increased, Expansion, Tristone Status Final SLR Project No 733.20070.00001 DOCUMENT REVISION RECORD Rev No. Issue Date Description Issued By A November 2018 First draft issued for client comment IK and EG B March 2019 Final Report to Competent Authority EG BASIS OF REPORT This document has been prepared by an SLR Group company with reasonable skill, care and diligence, and taking account of the manpower, timescales and resources devoted to it by agreement with Tristone Business Trust (the Client) as part or all of the services it has been appointed by the Client to carry out. It is subject to the terms and conditions of that appointment. SLR shall not be liable for the use of or reliance on any information, advice, recommendations and opinions in this document for any purpose by any person other than the Client. Reliance may be granted to a third party only in the event that SLR and the third party have executed a reliance agreement or collateral warranty. Information reported herein may be based on the interpretation of public domain data collected by SLR, and/or information supplied by the Client and/or its other advisors and associates. These data have been accepted in good faith as being accurate and valid. SLR disclaims any responsibility to the Client and others in respect of any matters outside the agreed scope of the work. The copyright and intellectual property in all drawings, reports, specifications, bills of quantities, calculations and other information set out in this report remain vested in SLR unless the terms of appointment state otherwise. This document may contain information of a specialised and/or highly technical nature and the Client is advised to seek clarification on any elements which may be unclear to it. Information, advice, recommendations and opinions in this document should only be relied upon in the context of the whole document and any documents referenced explicitly herein and should then only be used within the context of the appointment. i Tristone Business Trust 733.20070.00001 Proposed Irrigation Scheme Expansion Project, Stampriet, Hardap Region March 2019 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TBT plans to expand its irrigation scheme (of 105 ha) to include a new portion, namely Portion A, on Steyn’s Halt of the farm De Duine (198) (Steyn’s Halt), covering a total area of 5100 ha. An irrigation scheme of 15 ha will be undertaken on this additional portion of land. With the expansion of the irrigation scheme, TBT plans to renew the existing abstraction permits, while also amending the abstraction limit from the current permitted 970 000 m³/year to 1 800 000 m³/year. This increase in abstraction makes provision for the proposed 210 000 m³/year to be supplied from a new borehole to be established on Steyn’s Halt. Given that the land was previously cleared and used for rain fed corn plantations impacts on heritage/cultural aspects are not expected. Through the project the capability of the land is being realised. In the context of noise and visual related impacts, the increase in activities is relatively small. In the context of air quality related impacts, the additional portion of land was previously cleared and used for rain fed corn plantations. The continued use of the land by TBT for agricultural purposes would therefore not change any impacts previously experienced. The use of pesticides and farm practises on site could impact ecological systems through pollution of the environment and generation of dust. Specialist input was provided on the likely impact of the proposed project on groundwater resources. This was seen as the main impact associated with the project and was the focus of issues raised during the public participation process. The findings of the specialist input and other relevant information have been integrated and synthesised into this Scoping (including impact assessment) Report. A summary of the assessment of potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed project is provided in the table below. The mitigated assessment assumes that mitigation measures included in the environmental management programme (EMP) would be implemented by TBT. SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROPOSED PROJECT Significance of the impact* Section Potential impact Unmitigated Mitigated Pollution of environment with pesticides (which Medium Low comprise insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) Ecology Dust impacts on vegetation Low Low Avifaunal deaths due to power lines Medium Low Negative impact of pesticides, fertilizers and High Low hydrocarbons on groundwater quality Groundwater Negative impact of increased abstraction rates on Medium Low groundwater quantity downstream Socio-economic Positive economic impacts High + High + * The ratings are negative unless otherwise specified. In summary, the expansion of the TBT Irrigation Scheme has the potential to result in negative groundwater quality and quantity impacts and ecological impacts in the unmitigated scenario and positive socio-economic impacts through increased job security, investment in the region and i Tristone Business Trust 733.20070.00001 Proposed Irrigation Scheme Expansion Project, Stampriet, Hardap Region March 2019 support of the local community and economy as well as the Namibian economy as a whole. The project would also contribute to food security in Namibia as a whole. SLR Namibia concludes that should TBT follow the actions (i.e. management and mitigation measures) provided in the EIA and EMP report, the project would have an acceptable impact on the surrounding physical and social environment. ii Tristone Business Trust 733.20070.00001 Proposed Irrigation Scheme Expansion Project, Stampriet, Hardap Region March 2019 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... I 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT ........................................................................................ 1 1.3 PROJECT MOTIVATION (NEED AND DESIRABILITY) ................................................................................. 3 1.4 EIA PROCESS ........................................................................................................................................... 3 1.5 EIA TEAM ............................................................................................................................................... 4 1.6 OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ................................................................................................................ 5 2 LEGAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................. 6 3 SCOPING METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 8 3.1 INFORMATION COLLECTION .................................................................................................................. 8 3.2 SCOPING REPORT ................................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 SPECIALIST ASSESSMENT........................................................................................................................ 9 3.4 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 10 4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS ............................................................................................. 11 4.1 IAPS ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.2 STEPS IN THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS ................................................................................... 11 4.3 SUMMARY OF ISSUES RAISED .............................................................................................................. 12 5 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................. 13 5.1 OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................ 13 5.2 IRRIGATION SCHEME INFRASTRUCTURE .............................................................................................. 13 5.2.1 PUMP STATIONS ....................................................................................................................................................................