The Proposed Rectification of the Unlawful Enlargement of Wasplaas Dam, Within a Watercourse, Near Wellington, Western Cape Province: Nema Section 24G Process

UNLAWFUL ENLARGEMENT OF WASPLAAS DAM, WITHIN A WATERCOURSE ON REMAINDER OF FARM 1530, NEAR WELLINGTON, WESTERN CAPE: NOTIFICATION OF SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FORM IN TERMS OF SECTION 24G OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT (NEMA) (107 OF 1998) AND NOTIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED DOCUMENTS FOR COMMENT

S24G ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCESS:

DEA&DP Ref No.: 14/2/4/1/B3/38/0014/19

Heritage Western Cape Ref No.: 19090503SB0911E

The Applicant (Mr. Bous Serdyn, trading as Porseleinberg Boerdery) commenced with the enlargement of Wasplaas Dam, situated approximately 10 km northwest of the town of Wellington, in January 2018. The original, on-channel dam had a storage capacity of 2500 m3 which was intended to be enlarged to 300 000 m3 with a further phase of enlargement up to 1 000 000 m3, having been contemplated at the time of commencement. Construction discontinued after constructing the core trench and embankment wall up to a height of approximately 9.5 m with a storage capacity of approximately 80 000 m3. This dam is filled by pumping directly from the Berg river using a newly constructed 400 mm pipeline with a length of 0.43 km. The dam also has its own small catchment of 0.5 km2.

Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants has been appointed by Porseleinberg Boerdery to undertake the requisite Environmental Impact Assessment process for the project (in this case a Section 24G process) in accordance with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (No. 107 of 1998), as amended, EIA Regulations (2014).

The S24G Application Form has been made available to the public for review for a 30-day comment period from 14 November 2023 – 14 December 2023, and is downloadable via the link below. Potential Interested & Affected Parties (I&APs) have 30 days, i.e. until 14 December 2023, to register as I&APs and raise any initial issues or concerns related to the proposed project and the aforementioned documents. Any comments received from I&APs will be incorporated into a Comments and Response Report CRR(2) and included in the updated S24G Application Form, following which the Application will be submitted to the DEA&DP (if required).

Should you have any comments, issues or concerns regarding the proposed project or the findings of the S24G Application Form, please provide your comments in writing to Mr. Jake Cloete of Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants (Tel: 072 112 6426, email: wasplaas.ppp@gmail.com or post: PostNet Suite #108, Private Bag X12, Tokai, 7966), on or before 14 December 2023.