PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – Umhlaba Environmental Consulting

Public participation is a widely used term that describes information sharing between an applicant and various role players commonly referred to as stakeholders or interested and affected parties (I&APs). These role players encompass representatives and individuals from a diverse range of groups including:

Landowners,
NGO’s,
Decision makers on all levels of government, and
Any other individual, company or organisation that has a particular interest in the project.

The public participation process is predominantly carried out as part of a legal environmental authorisation process, such as; Mining and/or Prospecting Applications, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), Basic Assessments, Waste Licences, Atmospheric Emissions Licences (AEL) and Water Use Licence (WUL). Although the requirements for public participation processes may differ between these environmental authorisations, the fundamental principles of transparency, fairness and reasonableness are enshrined as the core values of public participation in all environmental authorisation processes.

In an attempt to reach as many people as possible, Umhlaba Environmental Consulting has created this web site as one of the ways of making documents available to I&APs.

YOUR INVOLVEMENT

If you are accessing information from this web site we would like to request that you please do the following:

Register with us as an I&AP) either using the details on this web site (see contact details left of page) or by filling in your details on the web site (register here). Even if you do not wish to make any comment on the document(s) we request that you register with us to enable us to determine the public’s interest in the project/ development.
Comment: After reviewing the relevant document(s) please submit your comments to us in writing (as required by the Regulations).

Comments must be received within the timeline stated on the file name of the relevant document. Comment sheets will be e-mailed to you when you register as an I&AP but can also be download with the documents listed under each project. You may also request that a comment sheet be sent to you via alternate means using the details on this web site (see contact details left of page).

Please note that both POSITIVE and NEGATIVE comments are requested.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Should you contact Umhlaba and submit comments on an environmental authorisation which is being subjected to a public participation process, then it is our responsibility to;
Act as an independent environmental assessment practitioner (EAP),

Record and present all comments received and response to these comments within the documentation that forms part of the environmental authorisation submission. It is these documents that the authorities will consider to make an informed decision.

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW

Please note, where I&AP comments are required to be submitted during a specified comment period, the date displayed in the file name of the report is the deadline for submission of comments. For other reports, the date displayed will refer to the audit date / date of completion of the report / the submission date.

List of acronyms:

BA – Basic Assessment
BAR – Basic Assessment Report
CA – Competent Authority
DMR – Department of Mineral Resources
EA – Environmental Authorisation
EAP – Environmental Assessment Practitioner

EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment
EMPR – Environmental Management Programme
I&AP – Interested and Affected Parties
MPRDA – Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act
NEMA – National Environmental Management Act
RoD – Record of Decision

Crushco (Pty) Ltd – Application for a Prospecting Right:
The competent authority (DMRE) as of 10th December 2020 accepted a prospecting right application from Crushco with reference number GP 10679 PR. The below documents are now available for public review and comment until 15th February 2021. Please read the Background Information Document (BID) for guidance on how to provide your comments on the draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR).

Bundu Sand (Pty) Ltd – Application for a Mining Permit for Sand:
The competent authority (DMRE) as of 20th October 2020 accepted a mining permit application from Bundu Sand with reference number GP 10396 MP. The below documents are now available for public review and comment until 15th December 2020. Please read the Background Information Document (BID) for guidance on how to provide your comments on the draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR).

AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd – Macassar Sand Mine – Update to the Environmental Management Programme Report (EMPr):

AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd (AfriSam) Macassar operation is an open cast sand mine. The mine has been operational since 1991 and has an available sand resource to sustain future mining for over 30 years. The current approved EMPr, of September 1996, is outdated and does not comply with the latest legal requirements. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) have requested an EMPr update to be compiled and must;

Be in line with “Amendments in terms of Part 2 of the EIA Regulations, 2014″
Include a limited public participation process
Be compiled in a format that adheres to the appendices of the EIA Regulations
Include details about future closure
Include details of cross-boundary mining agreements

A draft EMPr update has been completed based on the above and is provided below for review. Should you wish to comment on the draft EMPr, Please provide your feedback / input / interest in the matter to andrew@umhlaba.co.za, on or before 25th January 2020.

Bundu Mining (Pty) Ltd – Application to extend the existing Mining Right GP 00016-MR/102:
The final EIAr-EMPr document has been submitted to the competent authority (DMR) as of 7th November 2018 for consideration as part of the application process. A copy of this document has been provided below. Should you have any further comments on this document please forward this directly to the DMR at the following address: Private Bag X5, Braamfontein, 2017. Please remember to quote the following reference number: GP 00016-MR/102.

AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd – Closure Application for Mamre Quarry:

AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd submitted a Closure Application for the Mamre Quarry to the then Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in 2012. Included in this application was an Environmental Risk Assessment report (ERAr) and an Environmental Performance Assessment report (EPAr) compiled during 2011. In February 2015, the southern portion of the former mining area was closed in order to allow an alternate use of the land; i.e. a composting facility. Following from the 2011 Assessments, further rehabilitation work was undertaken around the quarry, and follow-up Assessment reports (ERAr and ERAr) were compiled and submitted during 2019.

Following the submission of the latest reports, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has requested that AfriSam appoint an independent person to notify the land owner of the status of the site and the anticipated closure of the mine and request feedback.

REGISTRATION

Please register as an interested and affected party (I&AP) by filling in your details below. The relevant comment sheet will be forwarded to you by your preferred method of communication.