Heritage Cases

Phakamile Risk Consultants (Pty) Ltd. appointed King’s Landing Trading 507 (Pty) Ltd t/a Enviroworks (hereafter referred to as Enviroworks), an independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP), on behalf of Supreme Poultry (Pty) Ltd. to submit an application for the ex post facto approval of the unlawful commencement or continuation of a listed activity in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA), as amended, as well as the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act 39 of 2004). Supreme Poultry Tigane is situated on Portion 499 of the Farm Hartbeesfontein 297 in Hartebeesfontein within the jurisdiction of the Matlosana Local Municipality in the North West Province. The site is approximately six hectares (6 ha) in extent, encompassing a total development footprint of 1.6 ha. Coordinates Longitude: 26° 44’ 20.27” S Latitude: 26° 25’ 34.80” E Expansion Activity The processing plant is an already established facility and is registered as an abattoir with the Department of Rural, Environmental and Agricultural Development, since 2013. From 2013 the daily product throughput gradually increased from 130 000 to 150 000 up until 2021. The most recent expansion activities took place between February 2022 and June 2022. The expansion is intended to increase the daily product throughput from 150 000 to 200 000 units per day. The expansion activities entailed, inter alia, the following: • Expansion of the live birds receiving area; • Installation of Air-line Chiller; • Installation of Gyro Freezer; • Installation of additional scalding tanks and pluckers; • Installation of new automated bird-handling and evisceration technologies, to comply with animal welfare standards; • Installation of blue lights at the receiving bay to ensure the chickens remain calm; • Installation of an additional cooling tower and refrigeration compressors; and • Installation of a new large automatic cutting machine. Factory Processes The factory processes are briefly discussed under the following sub-headings: • Live Bird offloading; • Slaughter and evisceration; • Production • Packaging and cooling of the processed units; and • Processed portions transported to respective clients. Live Bird offloading The initial phase includes the delivery of the chickens at the live bird receiving area, which contains a lairage where trailer loads of live birds are held in modules, these modules are offloaded from the trailers using forklifts and are then placed in the auto-flow machine which presents live birds to operatives for placing on the live bird line. Slaughter and evisceration The second phase includes slaughtering and evisceration, which consist of the stunning and bleeding out of the chickens, debunking, removal of feathers and internal organs. After the organs are removed, they are washed, packaged, weighed and are stored. Hereafter the organs are sold to the intended prospective clients. By￾products of the slaughter process that are unsuitable for further production such as feathers are segregated and transported to a rendering plant for disposal at Mahikeng Processing Plant. Packaging and cooling of the processed units. The third phase involves the cutting or quartering of the carcasses into portions, after which the portions are washed at the cut-up wash station. Hereafter the portions are packaged and chilled in large industrial freezers and in “fresh areas”. Processed portions are transported to respective clients. Finally, the last phase constitutes the delivery phase, whereby the processed portions are transported to the loading bay area and then distributed to the intended customers. Generation or Release of Emissions, Pollution and/or Effluent The sub-headings to follow provides details regarding the generation or release of emissions, pollution and/or effluent as a result of the primary activity. • Emissions into the Atmosphere; • Generation of Effluent; • Waste Management; and • Water Use. Emissions into the Atmosphere An average of 117 tonnes of Grade A coal and 9 948 litres of diesel is delivered to the Supreme Poultry Tigane Processing Plant on a monthly basis. The coal is stored in a bunded storage area, before being loaded into the two boilers (steam generators) present on site. Steam Generators are registered at the local authorities as fuel burning appliances. The stack diameter of steam generator one (1) is 540mm and steam generator two (2) is 550mm. Coal is burnt in the two steam generators, hereby generating steam, which is subsequently transferred to various areas of the Processing Plant. Diesel is used for the fryer at the Further Processing Plant (This will now beremoved by end Oct 2022 and this operation will cease) (diesel fueled fryer stack). The installed KW on site including Steam Generators are 5442,40 KW. Generation of Effluent Influent waste is composed of dissolved solids, blood, sludge and wash water. Influent is transferred in wastewater streams and passes through screens which remove the larger solids until effluent treatment takes place at the bio-gas plant (managed by TriGen) and the final treated effluent is discharged to the municipal sewer. Influent treated at the bio-gas plant is converted into energy (conversion of gas to Kilowatt (kW)). The capacity of the plant is 580 kW, however, due to the low output of the bio-gas plant the facility currently only generates heat (i.e. boiling water and steam for cooking process). As of April 2022, the average daily throughput of the facility is one thousand six hundred and ninety-eight cubic meters (850 m3). Environmental authorisation (NWDARD Reference: NWP/EIA/17/2014) was granted for the abattoir effluent treatment and storage of biogas at Tigane Supreme Poultry. Waste Management It is estimated that the facility currently produces 397 648 kilograms of condemned waste per month, which include dead on arrivals (DOA), feathers, rejected chicken carcasses and portions of product. Condemned waste is first contained in facilities especially designed for this purpose which include amongst others, troughs, skips and bins. Non-infectious DOA is collected by WYDENE TRUST (Lion farm). Infectious DOA, feathers and rejected chicken carcasses and portions of product are sent to the Mahikeng Rendering Plant. Details of all loads are maintained by the site. Sanitary and Medical Waste are collected by a registered waste removal contractor (Eco First and Averda respectively) and are incinerated off site. Sewerage from the ablution processing, admin, stores and workshop areas, as well as grey water from the showers and washing facilities are disposed of at an approved treatment facility. Paper and cardboard, plastic, scrap metal and wood pallets are recycled and reused wherever possible, excess material is recycled by a third party. Food waste produced within the canteen is collected by a local pig farmer and/or disposed of at the local, registered landfill site by a registered general waste removal contractor. Coal ash are generated by the two coal fueled steam generarots on site and are stored in a designated storage area, whereafter it is collected and removed by a brick maker. Approximately 3 963 kilogram of ash is produced on a monthly basis. Water Use Bore-hole water is sourced from a local farmer. The water is then stored on site in two existing reservoirs with a combine capacity of 830 m3 and is used for processing, fire sprinklers and fire-fighting. There is also an existing reservoir at TriGen with a capacity of 425 m3. Two additional reservoirs, adjacent to the existing biogas plant, with a combined capacity of 1100 m3 are proposed for future water use in processing. The farmer is in the process of registering the water use and/or applying for a water use license with the responsible authority for the abstraction of water from a borehole, the storage of water in reservoirs and tanks, processing water and irrigation (in terms of Section 21 (a), (b), (e) and (g). Compliance with the National Water Act, 1998 in terms of the abovementioned activities will be audited in 2022.