Heritage Cases

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd. (SANRAL) is proposing the rehabilitation of 38.56 km section of the National Route R56 Section 8 which is located between Matatiele at Km 130.15 and the KZN Border at Km 168.71 in the Matatiele Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The proposed road improvement will entail the following: Half of the 38.56 km section of the R56 will be resealed or overlaid and the other half rehabilitated; Rehabilitation of the existing R56 using the in-situ material as part of the new pavement by adding 3 metre shoulders with a centerline offset of approximately 6 to 7 metres resulting in a two way traffic scenario; Rehabilitate the existing R56 using the in-situ material as part of the new pavement by adding 1.5 metres shoulders with a centerline offset of approximately 3 metres resulting in a Stop- Go scenario; Reconstructing the R56 on a new off-set alignment (while traffic continues to use the existing R56); Mining authorisation for a rock quarry for material sources. The mining licence was issued 21 June 2021 by the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE). Reference: EC 30/5/1/3/3/3/00083BPEM); and Water use licenses for all the water crossings. The General Authorisation was issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation on 30 September 2016 (Reference 27/2/2/T631/1/4). According to the EIA regulations (2014, as amended) promulgated under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (Act No.107 of 1998; NEMA) the potential impacts on the environment will have to be assessed in terms of the listed activities. The proposed road upgrade trigger listed activities in terms of the NEMA EIA Regulations (2014, as amended) as per Listing Notices 1, and 3, and as such require a Basic Assessment process to be undertaken in accordance with Regulation 6 of the EIA Regulations (2014, as amended). The SANRAL National Route R56 Section 8 rehabilitation was previously authorised (Reference no.:14/12/16/3/3/1/1580); however, the environmental authorisation has subsequently lapsed, therefore a new application needs to be submitted, which will require a BA as outlined above. The competent authority for this application will be the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), CES has been appointed to undertake the Basic Assessment process on behalf of the Applicant.