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BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT PROPOSED HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE STORAGE FACILITIES AT THE
SALDANHA BAY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE
1. INTRODUCTION
The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) is
located at the Port of Saldanha, covering a portion of
land within the port precinct and a back of port area
to the north of Main Road 559. The Saldanha Bay IDZ
Licensing Company (hereafter referred to as SBIDZ-LC)
was established as the official public entity, licence
holder and operator of the IDZ area.
The development of an oil and gas offshore service
complex (OSC) within the declared IDZ area was
authorised by the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) in
November 2015. The Environmental Authorisation
(EA) was issued in terms of the National
Environmental Management Act, 1998 (No. 107 of
1998) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Regulations 2014. Under the EA, various activities and
services were approved for development within the
OSC including, but not limited to:
• Maintenance and repair of offshore drilling units;
• A ship repair yard;
• Service base; and
• Other infrastructure.
At the time of the initial application for Environmental
Authorisation, it was not known which future
operations and specific industries would be
established within this area. It was thus not possible
to account for all possible activities in terms of the
NEMA EIA Regulations that might be triggered by
future developments or operations within the IDZ
area.
The SBIDZ-LC is now seeking to develop fuel bunkering
facilities within the IDZ (hereafter referred to as the
proposed project).
Before the proposed project can be implemented,
authorisation in terms of NEMA, as amended, is
required. In addition, an application for an
Atmospheric Emissions Licence (AEL) in terms of
Section 22 of the National Environmental
Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (No. 39 of 2004),
as amended (NEM:AQA) would also be required.
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SLR) has been
appointed as the independent Environmental
Assessment Practitioner to undertake a Scoping and
EIA Process to meet the relevant requirements of,
amongst others, NEMA, the EIA Regulations 2014 (as
amended), and NEM:AQA (see Section 3).
2. PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT
This Background Information Document (BID) has
been compiled and distributed to:
• inform Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs)
about the legislative processes that the applicant
is required to comply with;
• provide a description of the proposed project;
• describe the Scoping and EIA process to be
followed;
• provide an overview of the key issues to be
investigated; and
• describe how I&APs can participate in the
process.
3. WHAT AUTHORISATION IS REQUIRED?
The EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended) promulgated
in terms of Chapter 5 of NEMA, provides for the
control of certain listed activities. Such activities are
prohibited from commencing until written
authorisation is obtained from the competent
authority, which in this case is DEA&DP. These
activities are listed in Government Notices (GN) No.
R983, R982, and R985, as amended.
Similarly, listed activities and associated minimum
emission standards identified in terms of Section 21 of
NEM:AQA (published in GN R893 of 2013, as
amended) are prohibited from commencing until an
AEL is obtained.
Background Information Document: Proposed Hazardous Substance Storage Facilities, Saldanha Bay IDZ
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 2 March 2018
The following activities that may be triggered by the
proposed project have been identified:
GN R982 - Listing Notice 2 (under NEMA)
4.
“The development and related operation of facilities or
infrastructure, for the storage, or storage and handling
of a dangerous good, where such storage occurs in
containers with a combined capacity of more than 500
cubic metres”.
6.
“The development of facilities or infrastructure for any
process or activity which requires a permit or licence or
an amended permit or licence in terms of national or
provincial legislation governing the generation or
release of emissions, pollution or effluent”.
7. “The development and related operation of facilities or
infrastructure for the bulk transportation of dangerous
goods -
(ii) in liquid form, outside an industrial complex , using
pipelines, exceeding 1 000 metres in length, with a
throughput capacity of more than 50 cubic metres
per day”
GN R893 (under NEM:AQA)
4. Subcategory 2.4: Storage and Handling of Petroleum
Products
“All permanent immobile liquid Storage facilities at a
single site with a combined storage capacity of greater-
than 1000 cubic meters.”
Thus, a Scoping and EIA process must be undertaken in
order to apply for an EA and an AEL.
It has been confirmed at a pre-application meeting with
DEA&DP that the required Scoping and EIA process will
only focus on the assessment of impacts related to the
newly triggered activities. The assessment will thus
focus on the storage of hazardous substances and
related air emissions and risks. Impacts related to the
clearance of natural vegetation, freshwater
ecosystems, heritage/archaeology, visual and noise
were deemed to be sufficiently assessed in the
previously approved EIA and would thus not be re-
assessed as part of the new application process.
4. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Construction is soon to commence on various approved
project components of the Saldanha Bay IDZ
development at the recently expanded GMQ and on
adjoining port land. The first components relate to the
establishment of the OSSB at the GMQ and various
other supporting services on a 20 ha adjoining area
within the IDZ. Already approved components include
a fabrication yard, pipe coating yard and various
storage and handling facilities. Access to the OSSB and
20 ha site would be obtained via the existing Port of
Saldanha access gates.
The current EIA will focus on activities that were not
previously assessed and covered by the current EA for
the IDZ. These include the following:
• Ancillary fuel bunkering at the OSSB;
• A fuel bunkering facility for the storage of marine
fuels and supply to offshore vessels within a 20 ha
adjacent IDZ area; and
• Storage of dangerous goods.
The above-mentioned components are described in
more detail below and illustrated in Figure 1.
4.1 OSSB AT THE GMQ
The OSSB at the GMQ will provide the following
services:
• Ancillary bunkering, fuel oil and lubricants refill
services with a storage footprint of
approximately 1 000 m2. Three 1 000 m
3 tanks
for marine bunker fuels and one 500 m3 tank for
helicopter fuel.
• Material on/offloading facilities via the recently
expanded quayside.
• Temporary storage facilities with a container
stacking yard of approximately 1 000 m2.
• Water refill facility for potable water (2 x 500 m3
tanks) and a 1 000 m2 area for mixing and
blending of drill fluids/muds.
• Office and warehousing buildings.
• Waste disposal services – a 300 m2 area for the
collection and handling of offshore oil and gas and
general wastes.
• Small scale pipe coating facility.
Of these, only the fuel bunkering component, indicated
in bold, would require environmental authorisation. All
other components of the OSSB are currently legally
permissible at the GMQ.
4.2 FUEL BUNKERING FACILITY
The fuel bunkering and blending facility for the
storage of marine fuel for supply to offshore vessels is
Background Information Document: Proposed Hazardous Substance Storage Facilities, Saldanha Bay IDZ
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 3 March 2018
proposed within a 20 ha area of the IDZ. Oil pipelines
would connect the intake located at the oil tanker
terminal at the entrance to Saldanha Bay to the
proposed bunkering facility. The facility would have a
total storage capacity of approximately 100 000 m³ and
a footprint of approximately 3 ha. It would be located
adjacent to the proposed Pipe Coating Yard,
approximately 350 m inland of the high water mark of
the sea.
The bunkering facility would require an EA and would
be assessed as part of the Scoping and EIA process.
4.5 LUBRICATION STORAGE & BLENDING FACILITY
AND STORAGE OF OTHER DANGEROUS GOODS
It is proposed to establish a Lubricant Storage and
Blending Facility for the manufacture of lubricants. The
facility would be approximately 2 ha in extent.
Depending on the hazardous nature of the substances
and storage capacity, this component might also
require environmental authorisation. This will be
confirmed during the EIA process and further detailed
design of the facility.
The EIA process will also aim to assess the potential
storage of dangerous goods across the rest of the IDZ
area, should other operators need to store such
substances in future.
5. SCOPING AND EIA ASSESSMENT PROCESS
The EIA Regulations 2014 (as amended) define the
detailed approach to the Scoping and EIA process. The
key steps where you can participate and provide input
during the process are highlighted below.
5.1 PRE-APPLICATION PROCESS
The objectives of the initial public participation process
are to ensure that I&APs are:
• notified of the proposed project and required
environmental authorisation process;
• provided with a reasonable opportunity to register
on the project database; and
• provided with an opportunity to comment (see
Section 7).
Comments received during this initial phase will be
used to inform the preparation of the draft Scoping
Report for the proposed project.
5.2 APPLICATION PROCESS
Scoping Phase
The purpose of this phase is to confirm the project
scope, key issues and the terms of reference for the
specialist studies. This will be set out in a draft Scoping
Report, which will be made available for a 30-day
public review and comment period during the second
quarter of 2018.
The final Scoping Report, along with all I&AP
comments, will be submitted to DEA&DP for their
review and acceptance.
EIA Phase
The issues identified during the Scoping Phase will be
assessed in specialist studies and integrated into a draft
Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The draft EIR will
be made available for a 30-day public review and
comment period (third quarter of 2018).
The final EIR, along with all I&AP comments, will be
submitted to DEA&DP for review and decision-making.
6. KEY ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION
A number of key issues associated with the proposed
project that were not assessed as part of the original
EIA process for the Offshore Oil and Gas Service
Complex, have to date been identified for
consideration in the Scoping and EIA process. These
include:
• The potential impact of the proposed fuel
bunkering facilities on air quality;
• The risks related to the establishment of a
potentially hazardous installation in the Port of
Saldanha; and
• Construction-related impacts of the proposed fuel
bunkering facilities and pipeline.
Previously assessed impacts related to noise, visual,
vegetation, heritage and freshwater ecology will be
referenced in order to confirm that the proposed new
bunkering facilities would not affect the significance
ratings assigned by specialists during the previous EIA
process.
Background Information Document: Proposed Hazardous Substance Storage Facilities, Saldanha Bay IDZ
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 4 March 2018
7. INVITATION TO COMMENT ON THE
PROPOSED PROJECT
You and/or your organisation are hereby invited to
register as an I&AP and provide input with regard the
proposed project.
You can become involved as follows:
• by reading this document and letting us know of any
initial issues or concerns that you may have;
• by providing us with contact particulars of any other
organisations or persons who may be affected by or
interested in the proposed project; and
• by registering as an I&AP (see attached Registration
Form).
This BID has been distributed for a 30-day comment
period from 22 March to 23 April 2018 (making
provision for the public holidays in March and April).
Should you wish to register or comment, kindly forward
your details to SLR (at the contact details below) by no
later than 23 April 2018.
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd
Unit 39, Roeland Square
30 Drury Lane, Cape Town, 8001
Tel: (021) 461 1118 / 9
Fax: (021) 461 1120
E-mail: [email protected]
Background Information Document: Proposed Hazardous Substance Storage Facilities, Saldanha Bay IDZ
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd 5 March 2018
Figure 1: Local setting and layout plan of the proposed Offshore Supply Base at the General Maintenance Quay and adjacent 20 ha area that is
proposed for development. Storage activities requiring Environmental Authorisation are indicated in yellow.
General Maintenance Quay
FABRICATION YARD
FACILITY
PIPE COATING
FACILITY
HARD STAND LUBRICANT
FACILITY
BUNKERING
FACILITY FUTURE
DEVELOPMENT
SCOPING AND EIA PROCESS FOR THE PROPOSED HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE STORAGE FACILITIES
AT THE SALDANHA BAY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ZONE
INTERESTED AND AFFECTED PARTY (I&AP)
REGISTRATION AND RESPONSE FORM
Would you or your organisation like to become a registered I&AP* and continue to receive information on the proposed project?
Yes No
Name :
Organisation:
Postal address:
Email address:
Telephone number: Fax number:
Do you or your organisation have any issues or concerns regarding the proposed project?
If yes, please provide details below: Yes No
Registered Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) in terms of Regulation 42 of
GN No. R982 of 4 December 2014 (as amended) includes all persons:
• who have submitted written comments;
• attended public meetings; and
• who have requested in writing, for their names to be placed on the register.
On receipt of a decision for the application, only registered I&APs will be notified,
in terms of Regulation 4(2) of GN No. R982 of 4 December 2014 (as amended), of:
• where the decision can be accessed;
• what the reasons for the decision were; and
• how an appeal may be lodged against the decision.
SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd
Unit 39, Roeland Square
30 Drury Lane, Cape Town, 8001
Tel: (021) 461 1118 / 9
Fax: (021) 461 1120
E-mail: [email protected]