Establishment Of A Wind Energy Facility Situated On The Eastern Plateau (South) Near De Aar, Northern Cape Province

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT AMENDED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (EMPr) AND FINAL SITE LAYOUT PLAN FOR COMMENT

(DFFE REF No.: 12/12/20/2463/1)

(DENC REF No. NC/BA/14/PIX/EMT/DEA5/2014)

Mulilo De Aar 2 South (Pty) Ltd, i.e. the holder of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the Wind Energy Facility (WEF) situated on the Eastern Plateau (South) near De Aar, in the Northern Cape Province (also referred to as the “De Aar 2 South WEF”), is preparing to submit the amended Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) and Final Layout Plan to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for approval, prior to commencement of construction, in accordance with Conditions 13, 14, 15, and 16 of the Environmental Authorisation (EA) dated 1 March 2013, as amended (DFFE Reference No. 12/12/20/2463/1).

The project would be located within the following properties, near De Aar in the Northern Cape Province: Portion 1 of Farm Knapdaar No. 8; Remaining Extent of Farm Slingers Hoek No. 2; Portion 5 of Farm Maatjes Fountain No. 1; Remaining Extent of Portion 2 of Farm Vendussie Kuil No. 165; Remaining Extent of Portion 2 of Farm Slingers Hoek No. 2; Portion 4 of Farm Slingers Hoek No. 2; Remaining Extent of Farm Vendussie Kuil No. 165; Portion 11 of Farm Vendussie Kuil No. 165, and Portion 7 of Farm Vendussie Kuil No. 165, within the Emthanjeni Local Municipality and Renosterberg Local Municipality, in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality.

The draft EMPr for the project has been updated to reflect the Conditions of Authorisation of the EA (and amendments thereto), the inclusion of the proposed Final Layout Plan, and the recommendations of the specialists (including ecology, aquatic, avifaunal, bats, agriculture/ soils, heritage (archaeology and palaeontology), visual, noise and transport) as part of the EMPr update and Layout Plan finalisation process, as required in terms of Conditions 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the DFFE EA dated 1 March 2013, as amended. Furthermore, the EMPr has been updated to meet the requirements of Appendix 4 of the EIA Regulations, 2014, as amended, and the inclusion of a Generic Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) for the Development and Expansion of Substation Infrastructure for Transmission and Distribution of Electricity.

The draft amended EMPr and Final Layout Plan are being made available to I&APs for a 30 day comment period, after which the final amended EMPr and Final Layout Plan will be submitted to DFFE for approval, as required in terms of Conditions 13, 14 and 15 of the EA.
Opportunity to participate: Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) are invited to provide comment on the Final Site Layout Plan and amended EMPr during the 30 day I&AP comment period, i.e. from 14 November 2022 – 14 December 2022. A copy of the Final Layout Plan and amended EMPr are available for review for a period of 30 days, i.e., from 14 November 2022 – 14 December 2022 and are downloadable via the links below.

Should you have any comments, please submit your comments to Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants by 14 December 2022. Comments are to be submitted in writing via post, or e-mail to Ms Tilly Watermeyer of Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants (email: tilly@hollandandassociates.net; post: Postnet Suite #108, Private Bag X12, Tokai, 7966 or tel: 060 319 1217).