DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT CSIR Report Number: CSIR/IU/EMS/ER/2017/0007/A January 2018 Prepared for: Lwando Piggery Prepared by: CSIR P O Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 Tel: +27 21 888 2482 Fax: +27 21 888 2473 Email: [email protected] Lead Authors: Karabo Mashabela and Minnelise Levendal © 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. DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng Title: Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng. Purpose of this report: The purpose of this BA Report is to: • Present the proposed project and the need for the 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 project on the environment; • Provide recommendations to avoid or mitigate negative impacts and to enhance the positive benefits of the project; • Provide an Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) for the proposed project. • Provide a Maintenance Management Plan (MMP) for the proposed project. This Draft BA Report is hereby released for a 30-day commenting period. All comments submitted during the review of the BA Report will be incorporated into the finalised BA Report as applicable and where necessary. The final BA Report will then be submitted to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural development (GDARD) for decision-making Prepared for: Lwando Piggery Prepared by: CSIR P O Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 Tel: +27 21 888 2408 Fax: +27 21 888 2493 Authors: Karabo Mashabela and Minnelise Levendal CSIR Report Number: CSIR/IU/EMS/ER/2017/0007/A Date: January 2018 To be cited as: CSIR, 2017. Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng. DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT. CSIR Report Number CSIR/IU/EMS/ER/2017/0007/A Page 1 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng Opportunity for Review: This Draft Basic Assessment Report, including the Draft Environmental Management Programme (EMPr), is hereby released for a 30-day review period by stakeholders. This review period closes on 15 February 2018 Comments are to be submitted to the CSIR at the contact details below. Project Manager – Karabo Mashabela Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Postal Address: P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 Phone: 021 888 2482 Fax: 021 888 2693 Email: [email protected] Page 2 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng SECTION A: ACTIVITY INFORMATION 19 A.1 PROPOSAL OR DEVELOPMENT DESCRIPTION 19 A.2 APPLICABLE LEGISLATION, POLICIES AND/OR GUIDELINES 19 A.3 ALTERNATIVES 21 A.4 PHYSICAL SIZE OF THE ACTIVITY 24 A.5 SITE ACCESS 25 A.6 LAYOUT OR ROUTE PLAN 25 A.7 SITE PHOTOGRAPHS 26 A.8 FACILITY ILLUSTRATION 27 SECTION B: DESCRIPTION OF RECEIVING ENVIRONMENT 28 B.1 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION 29 B.2 ACTIVITY POSITION 29 B.3 GRADIENT OF THE SITE 30 B.4 LOCATION IN LANDSCAPE 30 B.5 GROUNDWATER, SOIL AND GEOLOGICAL STABILITY OF THE SITE 30 B.6 AGRICULTURE 31 B.7 GROUNDCOVER 31 B.8 LAND USE CHARACTER OF SURROUNDING AREA 38 B.9 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 39 B.10 CULTURAL/HISTORICAL FEATURES 40 SECTION C: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (SECTION 41) 43 C.1 THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER 43 C.2 LOCAL AUTHORITY PARTICIPATION 43 C.3 CONSULTATION WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 43 C.4 GENERAL PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS 44 C.5 APPENDICES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 44 SECTION D: RESOURCE USE AND PROCESS DETAILS 45 D.1 WASTE, EFFLUENT, AND EMISSION MANAGEMENT 45 D.2 WATER USE 47 D.3 POWER SUPPLY 48 D.4 ENERGY EFFICIENCY 48 SECTION E: IMPACT ASSESSMENT 49 E.1 ISSUES RAISED BY INTERESTED AND AFFECTED PARTIES 49 E.2 IMPACTS THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONAL PHASE 49 E.3 IMPACTS THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE DECOMISSIONING AND CLOSURE PHASE 70 E.4 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS 74 Page 3 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng E.5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 74 E.6 IMPACT SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL OR PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE 76 E.7 SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT TOOLS 77 E.8 RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRACTITIONER 79 E.9 THE NEEDS AND DESIRABILITY OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 80 E.10 THE PERIOD FOR WHICH THE ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION IS REQUIRED 83 E.11 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (EMPr) 83 E.12 DECLARATION FORMS 84 SECTION F: APPENDICES 86 APPENDIX A: Site plan(s) – (must include a scaled layout plan of the proposed activities overlain on the site sensitivities indicating areas to be avoided including buffers) APPENDIX B: Photographs APPENDIX C: Facility illustration(s) APPENDIX D: Route position information APPENDIX E: Public participation information APPENDIX F: Water use license(s) authorisation, SAHRA information, service letters from municipalities, water supply information APPENDIX G: Specialist reports APPENDIX H: EMPr APPENDIX I: Other information Page 4 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng Table 1: Listed activities to be triggered 7 Table 2: Summary of Impacts 9 Table 3: Population groups within the Lesedi Local municipality 39 Table 4: Population by educational background 39 Table 5: Population by gender 40 Table 6: Population by economic status 40 Table 7: Summary of Impacts and Significance with Mitigation 76 Figure 1: Proposed layout of the expansion of the pig production and vegetable farming enterprise 6 Figure 2: Vegetation categories 34 Figure 3a: Wetlands map 35 Figure 3b: Wetlands map 36 Figure 4: The land use structure of the Lesedi Local municipality 78 Page 5 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The Lwando Piggery (the project applicant) is a small scale commercial farming enterprise farming with approximately 60 pigs on portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng (Co- ordinates: 26.575351 and 28.38010). The project applicant is proposing the expansion of their pig production enterprise by developing a 0.6 ha pig facility with a throughput capacity of 1 000 pigs on the same site. Due to the current sensitivities on site the layout was reduced to 5ha of land –see Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Proposed layout of the expansion of the pig production and vegetable farming enterprise Page 6 DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT Basic Assessment for the proposed expansion of a pig production and vegetable enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng The basic infrastructure currently on site includes: • Pig facilities which will be upgraded, • Staff housing and the main farm house. The proposed new infrastructure includes: • The construction of three pig houses • New staff housing and • Slurry tanks will be used for storage of pig waste. In addition to the proposed expansion of the pig facility, the proposed development entails the planting of chillies on 0.7 ha of land. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was appointed by National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to manage the Special Needs and Skills Development Programme which is aimed at providing Environmental Services, pro-bono, to small-scale businesses with special needs. The programme offers the undertaking of a Basic Assessment for projects that require this assistance in applying for Environmental Authorisation. The CSIR is currently undertaking a Basic Assessment Process for Lwando Piggery for their proposed expansion of a pig production facility and vegetable farming enterprise on Portion 56 of the Farm Houtpoort 392 in Heidelberg, Gauteng. The proposed development triggers listed activities in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, Government Regulations (GNR) 327 and 324 of April 2017 promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (Act no 107 of 1998). In terms of these Regulations, a Basic Assessment should be undertaken for the proposed project. The CSIR is providing the Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) and is managing the BA process on behalf of the project applicant. In terms of the amended NEMA EIA Regulations published in GNR 324, 325, 326 and 327 on the 7 April 2017 Government Gazette Number 40772, a BA process is required as the project triggers the following listed activities (detailed in Table 1 below).