Cape Town - Karpowership SA has been sent back to the drawing board after the company lost its appeal to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Barbara Creecy, in relation to its plans for ship-mounted gas-fired power plants at the Port of Saldanha Bay.
“I proceed to dismiss the grounds of appeal pertaining to the holistic assessment of the proposed Project,” Creecy found.
Karpowership SA won a bid to supply the government with about 1 220 megawatts of electricity over two decades.
The company proposed to locate the three powership projects at the Ports of Richards Bay, Ngqura and Saldanha, to generate electricity from natural gas to be evacuated through transmission lines to substations linking to the national grid.
Environmental activists and local fishing communities have however been up in arms over potential harmful impacts on the environment.
On June 23, 2021 DFFE refused the Environmental Assessment (EA) application citing requirements that were not met including public participation and the proper evaluation of the actual and potential impacts on the environment as well as socio-economic conditions, among others.
The company was afford an opportunity to appeal this decision, which it has now again lost, as the Minister found: “Having duly considered all the information pertaining to the various appeals, I deem that an appropriate order in terms of section 43(6) of National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) is to remit the matter to the CA (Competent Authority - DFFE) so that the various gaps in information and procedural defects in relation to the PPP that led to the rejection of the EA application may be addressed during the reconsideration and re-adjudication of the EA application.”
The energy company had appealed on various aspects, including on the environmental authorisation application, which it argued was not considered holistically.
However, Creecy found: “In my holistic assessment and consideration of the activities of the proposed Project, I found that the actual and potential impacts on the environment, as well as the socio-economic conditions - particularly in relation to small-scale fisheries, could not be determined due to gaps and inconsistencies in the various reports submitted.
“In particular, due to the lack of information in respect of the Underwater Noise Impact, the Marine and Ecology Study, as well as the Estuarine Impact Report, the actual and potential risks, and impacts on the geographical, physical, biological, social, economic and cultural aspects of the environment could not be predicted and evaluated in order to find the alternatives and options that best avoid negative impacts altogether, or where negative impacts cannot be avoided, to minimise and manage negative impacts to acceptable levels, while optimising positive impacts, to ensure that ecological sustainable development and justifiable social and economic development outcomes are achieved.”
In response to the findings Karpowership said it was disappointed but would try again.
“We respect Minister Creecy’s exercise of her powers, but we are very disappointed with the outlook especially given the time it took to make a decision. While we disagree with the findings on Friday’s report, we agree with the independent arbiter that there are no fatal flaws in the Karpowership SA EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment). We appreciate the DFFE’s remission of our EIA to the competent authority which allows us the opportunity to address perceived gaps and we hope that the process will be much timelier than it has been to date.”
Green Connection community outreach coordinator, Neville van Rooy said: “This decision vindicates the small scale fishers as it finds that they were not properly consulted, and that there was a need to do an underwater noise study and to assess the impact of the Karpowerproject on the fish on which their livelihoods depend.”
Cape Times