Zitholele Consulting Reg. No. 2000/000392/07 PO Box 6002 Halfway House 1685, South Africa Building 1, Maxwell Office Park, Magwa Crescent West c/o Allandale Road & Maxwell Drive, Waterfall City, Midrand Tel + (27) 11 207 2060 Fax + (27) 86 674 6121 E-mail : [email protected] FINAL BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED UPGRADING OF THE 66KV NETWORK TO 132KV NETWORK IN THE HOTAZEL, KURUMAN AND KATHU AREA, NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE Report No : 13167 Submitted to: Department of Environmental Affairs Private Bag X447 Pretoria 0001 DISTRIBUTION: 2 Copies - Error! Reference source not found. 1 Copy - Zitholele Consulting (Pty) Ltd September 2015 13167 Directors: S Pillay (Managing Director); N Rajasakran (Director); Dr AM Van Niekerk (Director) (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. This report format is current as of 1 August 2014. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ascertain whether subsequent versions of the form have been published or produced by the competent authority 3. 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. 4. Where applicable tick the boxes that are applicable in the report. 5. An incomplete report may be returned to the applicant for revision. 6. 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. 7. This report must be handed in at offices of the relevant competent authority as determined by each authority. 8. No faxed or e-mailed reports will be accepted. 9. The signature of the EAP on the report must be an original signature. 10. The report must be compiled by an independent environmental assessment practitioner. 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. 11. A competent authority may require that for specified types of activities in defined situations only parts of this report need to be completed. 12. Should a specialist report or report on a specialised process be submitted at any stage for any part of this application, the terms of reference for such report must also be submitted. 13. Two (2) colour hard copies and one (1) electronic copy of the report must be submitted to the competent authority. 14. Shape files (.shp) for maps must be included in the electronic copy of the report submitted to the competent authority. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE SECTION A: ACTIVITY INFORMATION ................................................................................................ 1 1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION .......................................................................................................... 1 2. FEASIBLE AND REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES .................................................................... 32 3. PHYSICAL SIZE OF THE ACTIVITY ......................................................................................... 49 4. SITE ACCESS ........................................................................................................................... 50 5. LOCALITY MAP......................................................................................................................... 51 6. LAYOUT/ROUTE PLAN ............................................................................................................ 52 7. SENSITIVITY MAP .................................................................................................................... 52 8. SITE PHOTOGRAPHS .............................................................................................................. 52 9. FACILITY ILLUSTRATION ........................................................................................................ 53 10. ACTIVITY MOTIVATION ....................................................................................................... 53 11. APPLICABLE LEGISLATION, POLICIES AND/OR GUIDELINES ........................................ 59 12. WASTE, EFFLUENT, EMISSION AND NOISE MANAGEMENT ........................................... 68 13. WATER USE ......................................................................................................................... 70 14. ENERGY EFFICIENCY ......................................................................................................... 70 SECTION B: SITE/AREA/PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ........................................................................ 72 1. GRADIENT OF THE SITE ......................................................................................................... 73 2. LOCATION IN LANDSCAPE ..................................................................................................... 73 3. GROUNDWATER, SOIL AND GEOLOGICAL STABILITY OF THE SITE ................................. 73 4. GROUNDCOVER ...................................................................................................................... 74 5. SURFACE WATER .................................................................................................................... 74 6. LAND USE CHARACTER OF SURROUNDING AREA ............................................................. 75 7. CULTURAL/HISTORICAL FEATURES ..................................................................................... 76 8. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTER ........................................................................................... 77 9. BIODIVERSITY.......................................................................................................................... 78 SECTION C: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ............................................................................................... 81 1. ADVERTISEMENT AND NOTICE ............................................................................................. 81 2. DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE MEASURES ................................................................ 81 3. ISSUES RAISED BY INTERESTED AND AFFECTED PARTIES ............................................. 82 4. COMMENTS AND RESPONSE REPORT................................................................................. 82 5. AUTHORITY PARTICIPATION .................................................................................................. 83 6. CONSULTATION WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ................................................................. 84 SECTION D: IMPACT ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................. 85 1. PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE ................................................................................................ 88 2. CONSTRUCTION PHASE ......................................................................................................... 89 3. OPERTATIONAL PHASE ........................................................................................................ 162 4. DECOMISSIONING PHASE .................................................................................................... 163 5. NO-GO OPTION ...................................................................................................................... 164 6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ............................................................................. 165 SECTION E: RECOMMENDATION OF PRACTITIONER................................................................... 166 APPENDIX A: MAPS ....................................................................................................................... 170 Appendix A1: Locality Map .............................................................................................................. 171 Appendix A2: Sensitivity Map .......................................................................................................... 172 Appendix A3: Municipal Boundary Map ........................................................................................... 173 Appendix A4: Geology Map ............................................................................................................. 174 Appendix A5: Vegetation Map ......................................................................................................... 175 Appendix A6: Vegetation Conservation Status Map ........................................................................ 176 Appendix A7: Infrastructure Map ..................................................................................................... 177 Appendix A8: Combined Alternatives