Case Decision - 196434

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) would like to thank you for your letter in response to the comment issued by SAHRA for the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) Report for the Proposed Gas to Power Powership Project at the Port of Saldanha Bay, Saldanha Local Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa.
SAHRA commented on the DEIA in March 2021 and noted that the comments which were provided for the DSR phase of the project had not been included in the DEIA. As Saldanha is an historic port, the comment included the recommendation that a plan for surveying the pipe laydown area must be incorporated into the project as although the possibility is low, there is still a chance that heritage remains be uncovered during the works.  SAHRA re-iterated in the comment for the DEIA that maritime heritage must be considered as part of the project and that mitigation measures must be included in the Final EIA.
SAHRA received a letter from Triplo4 in April 2021 which included an Underwater Archaeological Impact Assessment (UAIA) and stated that the final EIA will include mitigation measures as recommended by the maritime archaeologist. The UAIA comprised of a desktop survey, magnetometer survey and dive searches to inspect anomalies picked up during the magnetometer surveys. The report found no evidence of heritage remains along the proposed length of the pipe laydown area. Section 10 of the UAIA report outlined recommended management measures for inclusion in the EIA.
SAHRA supports these recommendations and is satisfied with the statement from Triplo4 that these measures will be included in section 8.3.12 of the EIA.
SAHRA also insists that section 4.2.1 of the EIA must also refer to Maritime heritage to show that its presence has been considered.
Once the Final EIA is ready, please upload it onto SAHRIS to enable SAHRA to review it and to issue a final comment for the project.