Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province BASIC ASSESSMENT PROCESS Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Facility, south-east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT April 2018 Prepared for: Kap Vley Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd – a subsidiary of juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd Prepared by: CSIR PO Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa Tel: +27 21 888 2432 Fax: +27 21 888 2473 Lead Author: Minnelise Levendal Mapping: Luanita Snyman-van der Walt (CSIR) © CSIR 2018. All rights to the intellectual property and/or contents of this document remain vested in the CSIR. This document is issued for the sole purpose for which it is supplied. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express written permission of the CSIR. It may also not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover than that in which it is published. Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and Title: associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Facility, south-east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province Purpose of this report: This Basic Assessment (BA) Report forms part of a series of reports and information sources that have been compiled during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and BA processes for the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Facility (WEF) and associated electrical infrastructure (132 kV Transmission line). The purpose of this BA Report is to: • Present the proposed project and the need for the proposed project; • Describe the affected environment at a sufficient level of detail to facilitate informed decision-making; • Provide an overview of the BA process being followed, including public consultation; • Assess the predicted positive and negative impacts of the proposed project on the environment; • Provide recommendations to avoid or mitigate negative impacts and to enhance the positive benefits of the project; and • Provide an Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) for the proposed project. This BA Report is being made available to all Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs), Organs of State and stakeholders for a 30-day review period. All comments submitted during the 30-day review of this BA Report will be incorporated into a finalised BA Report, as applicable and where necessary. The finalised BA Report will then be submitted to the National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), in accordance with Regulation 19 (1) of the 2014 National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998, as amended) (NEMA) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations (as amended), for decision-making in terms of Regulation 20 of the 2014 NEMA EIA Regulations. Prepared for: Kap Vley Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd – a subsidiary of juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd Prepared by: CSIR, P. O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa Tel: +27 21 888 2495/2661 Fax: +27 21 888 2693 Author: Minnelise Levendal Mapping: Luanita Snyman-van der Walt CSIR Project Number: EMS0142 CSIR Report Number: CSIR/IU/021MH/IR/2018/0001/A Date: April 2018 To be cited as: CSIR, 2018. Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Facility, south-east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province: Basic Assessment Report. pg 3 Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province SECTION A: INTRODUCTION, PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LEGISLATIVE REVIEW 20 A.1 Introduction 20 A.1.1 Background and Environmental Authorisation Process 20 A.2 Project team 23 A.2.1 Team 23 A.3 Project Applicant 24 A.4 Project description 25 A.4.1 Proposed infrastructure 25 A.4.2 Connectivity alternatives 25 A.4.3 Water, Sewage, Waste and Electricity Requirements 26 A.4.4 Overview of the Project Development Cycle 28 A.5 Description of the listed activities associated with the proposed project 29 A.6 Description of alternatives 32 A.6.1 Property or Location Alternatives (i.e. Site Alternatives) 33 A.6.2 Type of Activity Alternatives 40 A.6.3 Design or Layout of the Activity Alternatives 40 A.6.4 Technology Alternatives 41 A.6.5 Alternatives: Operational Aspects of the Activity 41 A.6.6 No-go Option 41 A.6.7 Concluding Statement for Alternatives 43 A.7 Needs and desirability 45 A.8 Applicable legislation 56 SECTION B: DESCRIPTION OF THE AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 60 B.1 Property details 60 B.2 Site context 61 B.3 Topography and landscape of the site 61 B.4 Geology, land use and soil 61 B.5 Terrestrial Environment 63 B.5.1 Groundcover 63 B.5.2 Vegetation Types 63 B.5.3 Fauna 71 B.5.4 Critical Biodiversity Areas 73 B.6 Avifauna 74 B.6.1 Birds 74 B.6.2 Bats 75 B.7 Dry and ephemeral watercourse 75 B.7.1 Regional Vegetation 76 pg 4 Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province B.7.2 Quaternary catchments 76 B.7.3 Dry and ephemeral watercourses 78 B.7.4 Drainage line delineation 82 B.8 Heritage profile 82 B.8.1 Site context 82 B.8.2 Findings of the Heritage study 84 B.8.3 Archaeology 86 B.8.4 Graves 87 B.8.5 Built environment 87 B.8.6 Cultural landscape and its relationship to intangible heritage 90 B.9 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTER 90 B.9.1 Demographic and Economic Profile 90 SECTION C: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 94 C.1 Advertisement and Notice 94 C.2 Determination of appropriate measures 95 C.3 Approach to the PPP 96 C.3.1 Project Initiation Phase - Identification and Notification to I&APs and Organs of State 96 C.3.2 BA Report Phase - Review of the BA Report (Current Stage) 96 C.3.3 Compilation of finalised BA Report for Submission to the DEA 97 C.3.4 Environmental Decision-Making 97 C.4 Authority participation 98 SECTION D: IMPACT ASSESSMENT 99 D.1 POTENTIAL IMPACTS THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE PLANNING AND DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATIONAL, DECOMMISSIONING AND CLOSURE PHASES AS WELL AS PROPOSED MANAGEMENT OF IDENTIFIED IMPACTS AND PROPOSED MITIGATION MEASURES 99 D.1.1 Approach to the BA: Methodology of the impact assessment 99 D.2 IMPACT ASSESSMENTS FOR EACH STUDY 105 D.2.1 Terrestrial Ecology (including Fauna and Flora) 105 D.2.2 Birds 119 D.2.3 Bats 125 D.2.4 Dry and Ephemeral Watercourses Impact Assessment 131 D.2.5 Visual Assessment 141 D.2.6 Heritage Impact Assessment 146 D.2.7 Soils and Agricultural Potential 155 D.2.8 Socio-Economic 161 D.2.9 Noise 163 D.2.10 Transportation 166 D.3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 167 D.3.1 Overall Impact Assessment including Alternatives 1, 2 and 3 of the Proposed Transmission Line Routing and Connection to the proposed Third Party Substation 167 SECTION E: RECOMMENDATION OF PRACTITIONER 172 pg 5 Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province APPENDICES Appendix A Details of EAP, Expertise and Declaration Appendix B Maps Appendix C Facility Illustrations Appendix D Public Participation Appendix E Specialist Reports E1 – Terrestrial Ecology E2 – Bird Impact Assessment Report E3 - Bat Impact Assessment Report E4 - Dry and Ephemeral Watercourses Impact Assessment E5 – Visual Impact Assessment Report Assessment Report E6 – Heritage Impact Assessment Report (including Palaeontology) E7 – Soils and Agricultural Potential Impact Assessment Report E8 – Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Report E9 – Noise Impact Assessment Report E10 – Transportation Impact Assessment Report Appendix F Additional Information Appendix G Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) pg 6 Basic Assessment for the Proposed Development of a Transmission Line and associated electrical infrastructure to support the proposed Kap Vley Wind Energy Energy Facility, south- east of Kleinzee, Northern Cape Province Table A2.1. The BA Team 24 Table A4.1. Description of the Kap Vley Transmission Alternatives 26 Table A5.1. Applicable Listed Activities for the proposed construction of electrical grid infrastructure to support the juwi Kap Vley WEF. 30 Table A6.1. Start, Middle and End Point of Alternatives 1, 2 and 3 of the Proposed Transmission Line and Connection to the proposed Gromis Substation 34 Table A6.2. Extent of the different sensitivity classes that occur within the different power line corridor alternatives. This is not the extent of habitat that would be impacted, but rather the extent of habitat overall within the 200m wide corridor and is used to provide an objective way of comparing the sensitivity of each corridor. 35 Table A6.3. Summary of the Ecological Assessment of the three powerline routing alternatives 36 Table A6.4 Comparative summary of the three alternative powerline routings 37 Table A6.5. Requirements of Appendix 1 of the 2014 NEMA EIA Regulations (as amended) in terms of Alternatives 43 Table A7.1.