AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE MERRIESPRUIT SLIMES DAM DISASTER AREA by THEUNIS JOHANNES DUVENHAGE 9605046 MINI-THESIS submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree MASTER IN NATURAL SCIENCES in GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT in the FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY STUDY LEADER: Dr. J.M. Meeuwis JUNE 1998 The Nation is in the position of a man, bequeathed a fortune, has gone on spending it recklessly, never taking the trouble to ask the amount of his inheritance, or how long it is likely to last. National Conservation Commission (1908) Democracy is not a matter of sentiment, but foresight. Any system that doesn't take the long run into account will burn itself out in the short run. Charles Yost, The Age of Triumph and Frustration Acknowledgements My thanks to my parents for supporting me through the initial part of the study; my wife for helping me seeing it through, Frik Senekal for the printing and design, Annette, Desire and Jacqueline for the typing, Maria de Wet and Virginia Publicity Association for some of the photos, Rob Gillmore at Harmony Gold Mine who took the time to supply me with crucial information. This work is dedicated to the seventeen people who died in the disaster and all the people who helped during the disaster. CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES iii LIST OF TABLES ABSTRACT vi OPSOMMING vii SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Preamble 1 1.2 Problem Statement 2 1.3 Aims and Objective 3 1.4 Methodology 4 1.5 Studies Completed or in Progress 5 SECTION 2 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 8 2.1 What is an Environmental Management Plan? 8 2.2 The EMP Process 9 SECTION 3 PRE-DISASTER AREA 11 3.1 Locality 11 3.2 Climate 12 3.3 Topography 15 3.4 Geology 16 3.5 Soils 17 3.6 Surface water 18 3.7 Sub-surface water 19 3.8 Pans and wetlands 20 3.9 Biotic component 21 3.9.1 Plants 21 3.9.2 Animals 22 11 3.10 Human aspects 23 3.10.1 Infrastructure 23 3.10.2 Land use 23 SECTION 4 POST-DISASTER AREA 25 4.1 Surface water management 25 4.1.1Surface water quality 25 4. I.2Pre-disaster water quality 25 4.2 Ground water management 29 4.3 Storm water 30 4.4 Dust 32 4.5 Waste management 32 4.6 Aesthetics and land use 33 SECTION 5 MANAGEMENT PLAN 5.1 Management goals 34 5.2 Project actions 34 5.3 Surface water management 34 5.4 Ground water 35 5.5 Storm water control 37 5.6 Waste management 38 5.7 Dust 39 5.8 Aesthetics and social-economic implications 40 5.9 Rehabilitation 42 SECTION 6 CONCLUSION 43 REFERENCES 46 APPENDIX In LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The northern wall of the Merriespruit Tailings dam (Dam 33) after the disaster. 1 Figure 1.2: The Lower Convent dam after the disaster. 2 Figure 3.1: Locality map. 11 Figure 3.2: The study area. 12 Figure 3.3: Evaporation and precipitation. 12 Figure 3.4: Mean annual rainfall. 13 Figure 3.5: Mean monthly rainfall. 13 Figure 3.6: Monthly evaporation. 14 Figure 3.7: Area north of the Convent dam. 16 Figure 3.8: Runoff distribution. 17 Figure 3.9: Geological section through the study area. 17 Figure 3.10: Soil structure. 18 Figure 3.11: Harmony Wetland and Bird Sanctuary (Convent dam ) prior to the disaster. 20 Figure 3.12: Natural vegetation of the area. 21 iv Figure 4.1: Positions of boreholes. 26 Figure 4.2: Conductivity and sulphates taken at Linabo Bridge between 1987-1993. 27 Figure 4.3: Conductivity and sulphates taken at Linabo Bridge between 1994-1995. 27 Figure 4.4: Conductivity and sulphates taken at Mostert Canal between 1987-1993. 28 Figure 4.5: Conductivity and sulphates taken at Mostert Canal between 1994-1995. 28 Figure 4.6: Analytical results from borehole sampling. 30 Figure 4.7: Visual pollution in the area. 33 V LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Maximum rainfall intensities per month. 14 Table 3.2: Temperature statistics for the Virginia area. 14 Table 3.3: Predicted flood peaks and volumes for the Sand River. 19 Table 3.4: Population distribution. 23 Table 4.1: Summary of the conductivity and sulphates at Linabo Bridge. 26 Table 4.2: Summary of the conductivity and sulphates east of the Mostert Canal. 26 Table 4.3: Summary of the conductivity and sulphates east of the Mostert Canal after the disaster. 29 vi ABSTRACT The Merriespruit Tailings dam disaster killed seventeen (17) people and covered a part of Virginia with approximately 2.5 million cubic metres of tailings, causing such an emotional uproar that all resources were focused on repairing the dam and addressing some of the social issues. Little attention was given to the environment. The identified need in this study was therefore to investigate the consequences of the disaster on the environment, a need which derives from the uniqueness of this particular disaster and its consequences. The Department of Minerals and Energy require the submission of an Environmental Management Program Report (EMPR) on all prospecting and mining operations. It is clear that, in the compilation of such an EMPR, Harmony Gold Mine neglected to establish a Management Plan to regulate the physical impact of the disaster on the environment, mainly because no attention was given to disasters in the Aide-Memoir. A Management Plan was established by adapting existing formats of management plans to the uniqueness of this disaster. By following the procedure stipulated in the Management Plan it can be ensured that Environmental Management requirements will be effectively integrated into either the project management actions and contracts or operational systems and processes for the following issues: Water management Storm water control Waste management Dust Aesthetics and socio-economic implications Rehabilitation of the area. The investigation showed that the disaster exerted a definite negative influence on the environment, which can be managed by taking preventative measures stipulated in the Management Plan. However, one of the main issues identified in this study is that storm water management has been problematic for a period of time. It is therefore noted that some attention should be given to establishing a wetland system to contain the storm water runoff. Although this study does not focus on the socio-economic impacts in detail, it is recommended that these impacts are considered as it is evidently problematic. The primary aim of this study was to compile an EMP in order to manage, and possibly mitigate, the physical impact of the disaster on the immediate environment, an aim which clearly was accomplished. Harmony Gold Mine can benefit from the compilation of this EMT, as management goals were set and feasible means of achieving them were specified. vii OPSOMMING Na die slikdamramp by Merriespruit waartydens 'n deel van Virginia met ongeveer 2,5 miljoen kubieke meter silk bedek en sewentien (17) mense se dood veroorsaak het, was daar groot emosionele reaksie. Dit het tot gevolg gehad dat alle mannekrag by die herstel van die damwal aangewend moes word sodat min aandag gegee is aan die impak van die ramp op die omgewing. Die doel van die studie is om die gevolge van die ramp op die omgewing te ondersoek en 'n bstuursplan op te stel. Die Departement van Mineraal- en Energiesake vereis dat 'n myn 'n Omgewingsbestuurs- plan (OBP) indien, om alle aktiwiteite tydens die mynproses aan te spreek. 'n OBP mask egter the voorsiening vir gebeurtenisse soos rampe nie, en daarom het Harmony Goud Myn the 'n bestuursplan vir die ramp in werking gestel the. 'n Bestuursplan is ontwikkel deur bestaande formate aan te pas. Die voorgestelde aksie in die bestuursplan sal verseker dat die moontlike impak beperk sal word. Daar is spesifiek na die volgende areas gekyk: Waterbestuur Stormwater kontrole Afvalbeheer Stof Estetika en sosio-ekonomiese impak Rehabilitasie Die ondersoek het getoon dat daar 'n geringe mate van invloed op die omgewing was weens die ramp, maar dat dit met voorkomende maatreels beheer kan word. Alhoewel dit the 'n direkte oorsaak van die ramp was the, blyk dit dat die stormwater probleme oplewer. Daar is voorgestel dat die stormwater na 'n vleigebied gedreineer word. Die doelwitte van hierdie stude, naamlik om 'n bestuursplan te ontwikkel en moontlik die impak van die ramp op die bepaalde omgewing reg te stel is bereik. Harmony Goud Myn kan dan ook direkte voordeel trek uit die versiag aangesien die beste oplossing vir die probleem deur die studie aangeteken is. SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Preamble On the night of 22 February 1994, the 29-year old Merriespruit Tailings' dam (Dam 33) northern dam wall gave way, unleashing a wave of mud which covered nearly 2 km 2 of the Virginia area, killing seventeen (17) people and leaving hundreds homeless, with damages estimated in the region of R100 million. The dam lost 25% of its 10 million capacity through a 50 m gash in the dam wall, when it failed. This was only the second disaster of its kind in South Africa2, but the first with major damage to private property and with the loss of lives. The identified need in this study is therefore to investigate the consequences of the disaster on the environment, a need which derives from the uniqueness of this particular disaster and its consequences. It can also be postulated, however, that information generated by this investigation could be of significant benefit to the general field of Environmental Management.