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FISHWATER FLATS WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS BIOGAS PROJECT

ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALAEONTOLOGICAL STUDY FOR THE

PROPOSED FISHWATER FLATS WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS BIOGAS PROJECT

NELSON MANDELA BAY MUNICIPALITY

DEA Ref: 14/12/16/3/3/3/209

Prepared for:

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

Prepared by:

EOH Coastal &

Environmental Services

194 – 197 Lillian Diedericks

Building Govan Mbeki Avenue Port Elizabeth

13 Stanley Street,

Richmond Hill, Port Elizabeth

South Africa

South Africa

APRIL 2016

REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE This report should be cited as follows: EOH Coastal & Environmental Services, April 2016: Volume 3: Archaeological and Palaeontological study for the proposed Fishwater Flats Wastewater Treatment Works Biogas Project Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. CES, Grahamstown.

CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule

Document Title Archaeological and Palaeontological Study for the Proposed Fishwater Flats Wastewater Treatment Works Biogas Project.

Client Name & Address

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

194 – 197 Lillian Diedericks Building Govan Mbeki Avenue Port Elizabeth

Document Reference DEA Ref: 14/12/16/3/3/3/209

Status

Final

Issue Date

April 2016

Lead Author - Archaeological

Jonathan Kaplan Agency for Cultural Resource Management

Lead Author - Paleontological

Dr John E Almond Natura Viva cc

Review Dr Eric Igbinigie EOH Coastal & Environmental Services

Report Distribution

Circulated to No. of hard copies

No. electronic copies

Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)

3 3

Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism ( Eastern Cape)

1 1

Department of Energy (DoE) 1 1 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

This document contains intellectual property and propriety information that is protected by copyright in favour of Coastal & Environmental Services and the specialist consultants. The document may therefore not be reproduced, used or distributed to any third party without the prior written consent of EOH Coastal & Environmental Services. This document is prepared exclusively for submission to the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, and is subject to all confidentiality, copyright and trade secrets, rules intellectual property law and practices of South Africa.

EOH Coastal& Environmental Services

Cape Town The Point, Suite 408, 4

th Floor

76 Regent Road Sea Point

[email protected] www.cesnet.co.za

Also in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, East London Johannesburg and Maputo

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.cesnet.co.za/

Volume 3: Specialist Reports

EOH Coastal & Environmental Services iii FWF WWTW Biogas Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE ....................................................................................................................... II

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... III

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................ III

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................................. III

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................................................................IV

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 5

1.1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................................................ 5 1.2. PROJECT LOCATION ............................................................................................................ 5 1.3. PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT ............................................................................................... 5

2. RECOMMENDATION FOR EXEMPTION .......................................................................................... 8

APPENDIX 1: ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION FOR THE FISHWATER FLATS WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS UPGRADE .................................................................................................................... 9

ANNEXURE 2: REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION TO CONDUCT ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY FOR THE FWF WWTW UPGRADE .................................................................................................................................. 23

ANNEXURE 3: PALEONTOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 31

ANNEXURE 4: ISSUED EXEMPTION FOR THE FWF WWTW UPGRADE .................................................. 42

ANNEXURE 5: EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL HERITAGE RESOURCES AUTHORITY APPROVAL LETTER ............................................................................................................................................................ 46

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Locality map for the proposed project................................................................................................ 6 Figure 1.2: Map showing the location of the proposed Biogas Plant within the Fishwater Flats Wastewater

Treatment Works ............................................................................................................................................ 7

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Properties on which the proposed project is located ......................................................................... 5


EOH Coastal & Environmental Services iv FWF WWTW Biogas Project

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACRONYM MEANING

ACRM Agency for Cultural Resource Management

CES EOH Coastal & Environmental Services

DEA Department of Environmental Affairs

EC PHRA Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

FWF Fishwater Flats

NEMA National Environmental Management Act

NMBMM Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

RHDHV Royal Haskoning DHV

SAHRA South African Heritage Resources Agency


EOH Coastal & Environmental Services 5 FWF WWTW Biogas Project

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background Information In 2011, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) proposed the upgrading and modernisation of the Fishwater Flats (FWF) Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW). The FWF WWTW, which was commissioned in 1976, is currently being upgraded as per the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Waste Licence (12/9/11/L433/1) issued on the 23rd of November, 2013 (Annexure 1). The upgrade will result in the commissioning and decommissioning of certain facilities within the works resulting in the increase in effluent treatment capacity from 135 Ml/d to170 Ml/d. Amongst the facilities to be decommissioned at the WWTW is the Zimpro® plant, which is used for thermal conditioning (sludge stabilisation) of the sewage sludge that is generated during the wastewater treatment process. As part of the upgrade of the FWF WWTW, it is the intension of the NMBMM to decommission the aging Zimpro® plant to be replaced with a modernised Biogas (Cogeneration) Plant, which in addition to sludge stabilisation, will result in the beneficiation of the sludge by producing heat and 9MW electricity through the production of methane from the anaerobic digestion of sludge. The development of the Biogas Plant will constitute a separate development geared towards a renewable energy scheme and will be designed and constructed independently of the FWF WWTW. The electricity generated will be used to power the FWF WWTW.

1.2. Project Location The plant will be located on a 0.97ha fenced off area within the footprint of the FWF WWTW, which is currently being upgraded / modernised. The FWF WWTW is located on Erf RE/419, Swartkops in Ward 60 along John Tallant Road, Port Elizabeth (Table 1.1). It is adjacent to Deal Party and is accessible indirectly from the N2. Please refer to Figures 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 below for a locality map and Google Earth™ images of the proposed location of the Biogas Plant. Table 1.1: Properties on which the proposed project is located

PROPERTIES 21 SG CODES AREA (HA) CENTRAL GPS-COORDINATE

Longitude Latitude

RE/419 C05900360000041900000 52 25.618635 -33.879692

1.3. Purpose of this Report

EOH Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) has been appointed by Royal Haskoning DHV (RHDHV), NMBM Lead Consultant, to undertake an application for EA through an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for the proposed installation of the Biogas Plant as required by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (Act No 107 of 1998) as amended, and the EIA regulations promulgated in 2014. Details of the relevant laws and an overview of the environmental impact assessment process are provided in Volume 2 of this reporting sequence. This report presents the archaeological and palaeontological study of the proposed development site and forms part of the specialist reports (Volume 3) required for the licencing of the proposed development.



Figure 1.1: Locality map for the proposed project.



Figure 1.2: Map showing the location of the proposed Biogas Plant within the Fishwater Flats Wastewater Treatment Works



2. RECOMMENDATION FOR EXEMPTION In 2011, EOH Coastal & Environmental Services (EOH CES) appointed Mr Jonathan Kaplan of the Agency for Cultural Resource Management (ACRM) and Dr John E. Almond of Natura Viva cc to conduct an archaeological heritage assessment and a phase 1 palaeontological desktop assessment, respectively, for the proposed upgrade to the FWF WWTW. A recommendation for the exemption to conduct an archaeological study and a phase 1 palaeontological desktop assessment were drafted and submitted to the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) as part of the EIA process for the FWF WWTW Upgrade (Annexures 2 and 3, respectively). The exemption was on the basis that the probability of locating important archaeological artifacts and or fossils in the proposed footprint area was likely to be very low, given the already degraded nature of the affected site. The EA for the development for the FWF WWTW Upgrade was later issued in 2013 (Annexure 1). The proposed Biogas Cogeneration Plant, which is applied for here (DEA Ref: 14/12/16/3/3/3/209), is a separate development geared towards renewable energy. However, the proposed development falls within the same footprint as the licenced FWF WWTW Upgrade development (DEA Ref: 12/9/11/L433/1) and will contribute towards the upgrade of the FWF WWTW. For this reason, it is the EAP’s opinion that it is deemed unnecessary to conduct another archaeological assessment and or palaeontological study for the same area and therefore the letter of exemption received from SAHRA regarding the FWF WWTW Upgrade development (DEA Ref: 12/9/11/L433/1) is applicable to this application (Annexure 4). For the purpose of completion, this argument and supporting documentations were presented to the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (EC PHRA). The letter of approval received from EC PHRA and is presented here as Annexure 5.



APPENDIX 1: ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION FOR THE FISHWATER FLATS WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS UPGRADE



ANNEXURE 2: REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION TO CONDUCT ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY FOR THE FWF WWTW UPGRADE



ANNEXURE 3: PALEONTOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT



ANNEXURE 4: ISSUED EXEMPTION FOR THE FWF WWTW UPGRADE



ANNEXURE 5: EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL HERITAGE RESOURCES AUTHORITY APPROVAL LETTER

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