Draft Basic Assessment Report PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF BECCLESFARM BRIDGE, TARKASTAD, EASTERN CAPE DEDEAT Reference: EC132/CH/LN1/11/14-09 Prepared for: Element Consulting Engineers 52 Stewart Drive Baysville East London 5241 South Africa Prepared by: EAST LONDON 16 Tyrell Road, Berea East London, 5241 043 726 7809 Also in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, JHB & Maputo www.cesnet.co.za December 2014 This Report should be cited as follows: Coastal & Environmental Services, December 2014: Draft Basic Impact Assessment Report: Becclesfarm Bridge Construction, Tarkastad, CES, East London. CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule Document Title Construction of the Becclesfarm Bridge, Tarkastad. Client Name & Element Consulting Engineers Address 52 Stewart Drive Baysville East London 5241 Document Reference EC132/CH/LN1/11/14-09 Status DRAFT Issue Date Lead Author Ms Nande Suka Reviewer Dr Greer Hawley Study Leader or Registered Dr Alan Carter Environmental Assessment Practitioner Approval Report Distribution Circulated to No. of hard No. electronic copies copies DEDEAT DWA ECPHRA SAHRA This document has been prepared in accordance with the scope of EOH Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) appointment and contains intellectual property and proprietary information that is protected by EOH Coastal& Environmental Services copyright in favour of CES. The document may East London therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed to any 16 Tyrell Road third party without the prior written consent of Coastal & Berea Environmental Services. This document is prepared East London exclusively for use by CES’s client. CES accepts no 5241 liability for any use of this document other than by its +27 43 726 7809 client and only for the purposes for which it was [email protected] prepared. No person other than the client may copy (in www.cesnet.co.za whole or in part) use or rely on the contents of this Also in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, document, without the prior written permission of CES. JHB & Maputo The document is subject to all confidentiality, copyright and trade secrets rules, intellectual property law and practices of South Africa. PROVINCE OF THE EASTERN CAPE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT (For official use only) File Reference Number: Application Number: Date Received: Basic assessment report in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2010, promulgated in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998(Act No. 107 of 1998), as amended. Kindly note that: 1. This basic assessment report is a standard report that may be required by a competent authority in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2010 and is meant to streamline applications. Please make sure that it is the report used by the particular competent authority for the activity that is being applied for. 2. The report must be typed within the spaces provided in the form. The size of the spaces provided is not necessarily indicative of the amount of information to be provided. The report is in the form of a table that can extend itself as each space is filled with typing. 3. Where applicable tick the boxes that are applicable or black out the boxes that are not applicable in the report. 4. An incomplete report may be returned to the applicant for revision. 5. The use of “not applicable” in the report must be done with circumspection because if it is used in respect of material information that is required by the competent authority for assessing the application, it may result in the rejection of the application as provided for in the regulations. 6. This report must be handed in at offices of the relevant competent authority as determined by each authority. 7. No faxed or e-mailed reports will be accepted. 8. The report must be compiled by an independent environmental assessment practitioner. 9. Unless protected by law, all information in the report will become public information on receipt by the competent authority. Any interested and affected party should be provided with the information contained in this report on request, during any stage of the application process. 10. A competent authority may require that for specified types of activities in defined situations only parts of this report need to be completed. SECTION A: ACTIVITY INFORMATION Has a specialist been consulted to assist with the completion of this YE````S NO section? If YES, please complete form XX for each specialist thus appointed: Any specialist reports must be contained in Appendix D. 1. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION Describe the activity, which is being applied for, in detail 1. Introduction Tsolwana Local Municipality is proposing to construct a bridge over the Black Kei River at Becclesfarm, in the Tsolwana Local Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province (Figure 1.1). Element Consulting Engineers, as the project engineers, has appointed EOH Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment. Figure 1.1: Location of the proposed Becclesfarm Bridge. Two alternative sites are proposed, site 1 and 2 as indicated in the map above. 1.1. Project location and description The proposed bridge construction is over the Black Kei River at Becclesfarm, a rural township located east of Tarkastad. Becclesfarm is accessed via a gravel road (approximately 15km) that branches off west of the R61. 1.2. Project components The proposed construction includes a bridge over the Black Kei River, which is intended to provide access to Becclesfarm. The main existing river crossing that provides access to Becclesfarm has suffered significant flood damage. A preliminary design for the proposed bridge is shown in Appendix C. 2. Biophysical Environment 2.1. Climate Becclesfarm receives approximately 335mm of rain per year, with the majority occurring during summer. The lowest (6mm) rainfall falls in July and the highest (60mm) in March. The average midday temperatures range from 15.1oC in June to 27.5oC in January. The region is the coldest during July when the temperatures drop to 0.6oC on average during the night. Figure 2.1: Average rainfall and temperature variation over a 12 month period in Tarkastad (Becclesfarm). 2.2. Topography Becclesfarm is characterised by flat bottomlands of intramountain basins with adjacent slopes. The study area is relatively flat. Elevation ranges from 1237 m.a.s.l (meters above sea level) to 1240 m.a.s.l. (Figure 2.2). Figure 2.2: Elevation profile of the study site, in Becclesfarm, Tarkastad. (Source: Google Earth). 2.3. Geology and Soils The geological strata of Becclesfarm consists of sedimentary rocks of the Tarkastad Subgroup (Beaufort Group, Karoo Supergroup) overlain with clay-loam soils typical of Da and Fc land types. 2.4. Vegetation and Floristics The vegetation of the Becclesfarm area is described by the SANBI National Vegetation Map (Mucina and Rutherford, 2006) as predominantly grassland, namely Queenstown Thornveld (Gs16), as shown in Figure 2.3 below. Queenstown Thornveld is found on flat bottomlands of intramountain basins with adjacent slopes supporting a complex of Acacia natalitia thornveld and grassland dominated by Aristida congesta, Cymbopogon pospischilii, Eragrostis curvula and Tragus koelerioides, with scattered shrubs and low Acacia in places. This vegetation is considered “least threatened” by Mucina and Rutherford (2006). Nearly 1% is statutorily conserved in the Tsolwana Nature Reserve. Some 10% is transformed, primarily by cultivation and urbanisation. Overgrazing is a serious concern, especially by goats close to urban areas. Figure 2.3: SANBI Vegetation map (Mucina and Rutherford, 2006) showing the vegetation type as Queenstown Thornveld (Gs16). 2.5. Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan (ECBCP) The main outputs of the ECBCP are “critical biodiversity areas” or CBAs. Land use management of these areas is classified according to terrestrial Biodiversity Land Management Classes (BLMCs). No CBAs were noted in the area. The bridge sites are located in areas classified as BLMC 3 (Functional landscapes), with the following recommended land use management objectives: BLMC 3 (Functional landscapes): These areas should be maintained for sustainable development, keeping natural habitat intact in wetlands and riparian zones. Figure 2.4: ECBCP map of the surrounding area with the two alternative sites proposed for the bridge indicated as Site 1 and Site 2. 2.6. SANBI Working for Wetlands The following wetland type is found in great proximity to the study area: Channelled valley-bottom wetland which is a flat wetland dissected by and typically elevated above a channel, with most of its water inputs coming from the channel either as a surface flow, interflow, or from adjacent valley-side slopes. Water generally moves through the wetland as diffuse surface flow, although occasional, short-lived concentrated flows are possible during flooding events. Small depressional areas within such a wetland can result in temporary containment and storage of water within the wetland. Water generally exits in the form of diffuse surface flow and interflow, with the infiltration and evaporation of water from these wetlands also being potentially significant. Figure 2.5: SANBI map indicating the wetlands associated with the two alternative sites proposed for the bridge. 3. Socio-economic profile The proposed project is located in the Tsolwana Local Municipality of the Chris Hani District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. 3.1. Population The total population living in Tsolwana LM is 33 281 and 9494 households (Stats SA, 2011). The average household size is approximately 3.5 persons per household. 91% of the population is Black African, 5.8% are coloured, and 2.8% are white and the other population groups making up the remaining 0.4%. The population is made of 53% females and 47% males. 3.2. Income and poverty levels Approximately 23% of households earn a gross income of no more than R1 500 per month, another 16% earn between R1 500 and R2 500 per month.