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
DMRE – Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
EA – Environmental Authorisation
EAP – Environmental Assessment Practitioner

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

Gold One Africa (Pty) Ltd – Ventersburg Exploration Right – 214ER:
In August 2019, Gold One Africa (Pty) Ltd were granted five contiguous Exploration Rights to explore for natural gas from existing exploration boreholes. As the five rights are contiguous and being managed as a single project, Gold One has consolidated these rights into a single Right – 12/3/214 – with none of the original exploration activities described in the original applications being changed during the consolidation process. Part of this process is the consolidation of the approved Environmental Management Program reports (EMPr’s) for the five Rights. The information in the consolidated EMPr’s was extracted directly from the original approved EMPr’s submitted during 2011 with no new information added. As the EMPr’s are considered the Environmental Authorisations for each Right, the consolidation is considered an amendment to the Environmental Authorisation.

Attached is the notification of this amendment to the Environmental Authorisation, the Authorisation letters from both the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Petroleum Agency of SA, and the Record of Decision by the DMRE.

Transkei Quarries (Pty) Ltd – Laman Mining Permit Application:
Transkei Quarries (Pty) Ltd has applied to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for a Mining Permit for Aggregate (RM) & Stone Aggregate (St) & Sand (manufactured from hard rock) QH. The application has been accepted and has the reference number EC 10656 MP. Below is the draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR) available for public review and comment until the 24th June 2021. Please refer to the Background Information Document (BID) for guidance on how to register as an Interested and Affected Party for this application, and how to submit your comments or concerns.

AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd – EMPr revision Umlaas Road Quarry:

In response to the findings of the December 2020 Environmental Audit, AfriSam (South Africa) Properties (Pty) Ltd Umlaas Road Quarry is revising their approved Environmental Management Programme report (EMPr). The revision process requires consultation with potential interested and affected parties (I&AP). The Background Information Document (BID) below includes a description of the site, a summary of the activities being undertaken, the potential impacts (identification and preliminary evaluation) and the current manner of control. This BID also serves to initiate the consultation process, providing I&AP with an opportunity to register in order to be involved in the full process. Registration forms are attached for you convenience.

Transkei Quarries (Pty) Ltd – Yomba Mining Permit Application:
Transkei Quarries (Pty) Ltd has applied to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for a Mining Permit for Aggregate (RM) & Stone Aggregate (St) & Sand (manufactured from hard rock) QH. The application has been accepted and has the reference number EC 10644 MP. Below is the draft Basic Assessment Report (BAR) available for public review and comment until the 23rd April 2021. Please refer to the Background Information Document (BID) for guidance on how to register as an Interested and Affected Party for this application, and how to submit your comments or concerns.

Crushco (Pty) Ltd – Application for a Prospecting Right:
The final BAR document has been submitted to the competent authority (DMRE) as of 19th February 2021 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 DMRE at the following address: Private Bag X5, Braamfontein, 2017. Please remember to quote the following reference number: GP 10679 PR.

Bundu Sand (Pty) Ltd – Application for a Mining Permit for Sand:
The final BAR document has been submitted to the competent authority (DMRE) as of 22nd January 2021 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 DMRE at the following address: Private Bag X5, Braamfontein, 2017. Please remember to quote the following reference number: GP 10396 MP.

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.