Case Decision - 197439

Interim Comment
The SAHRA Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorites (APM) Unit notes the pending assessment of the impact to heritage resources and requests that the assessment comply with section 38(3) of the NHRA. The Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) must contain an archaeological component that must be conducted by a qualified archaeologist and the report comply with the SAHRA 2007 Minimum Standards: Archaeological and Palaeontological Components of Impact Assessment Reports.
The proposed development is located within an area of very high and moderate Palaeontological Sensitivity as per the SAHRIS PalaeoSensitivity map. As such, a field-based Palaeontological Impact Assessment (PIA) must be undertaken by a qualified palaeontologist. (See https://www.palaeosa.org/heritage-practitioners.html for a list of qualified palaeontologists). The report must comply with the 2012 Minimum Standards: Palaeontological Components of Heritage Impact Assessments.
Any other heritage resources as defined in section 3 of the NHRA that may be impacted, such as built structures over 60 years old, sites of cultural significance associated with oral histories, burial grounds and graves, graves of victims of conflict, and cultural landscapes or viewscapes must also be assessed.
Previous comments regarding buffers from scenic routes in the Northern Cape must be taken into consideration during the assessment on the cultural landscape or viewscapes, and the results of the Visual Impact Assessment must be incorporated into the HIA.
Further comments will be issued upon receipt of the above requested reports and the draft EIA with all appendices.