Section 24G Application for the Regularisation of Unlawful Commencement or Continuation of a Listed Activity For a Private Residential Dwelling on Portion 11 of ERF 670 of Farm Tongaat, 74 South Dune Road, Desainager, eTHekwini Municipality, KZN

 

 

PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT

Khweza Environmental Consulting has been appointed by the Lavin Naidoo Family Trust to conduct a Section 24G NEMA application for rectification of the commencement of the construction of a residential dwelling within 100 metres of the High Water Mark without an Environmental Authorisation.

This document aims to provide you, as an Interested and/or Affected Party (I&AP), with information regarding the S24G Rectification process being undertaken for the above-mentioned project. Any person, company, authority, or other entity that might be directly or indirectly affected by the proposed activity is invited to register as an I&AP. This includes, but is not limited to landowners, tenants, municipal and provincial authorities, interest groups, Non-Government Organisations, and conservation groups.

This document details how you can become involved in the project, receive information, and raise any issues of concern or interest regarding the proposed project. The sharing of information forms the basis of the Public Participation Process and offers you the opportunity to become actively involved in the project from the outset. Input from I&APs ensures that all potential environmental issues are considered within the context of the development.

LOCATION

The study area of this Section 24G application is situated in Desainager near La Mercy, approximately 30km to the north of Durban, 18km south of Umhlanga and 15km east of Tongaat and falls within the jurisdiction of the eThekwini Municipality, Kwa Zulu Natal with GPS coordinates 29°37’41.71″S and 31° 8’39.82″E. (Refer to Appendix A: Project Locality Map) or see more here

SITE DESCRIPTION

The site of this Section 24G application is situated between on Portion 11 of ERF 670 of Farm Tongaat also referred to 74 South Dune Road, Desainager, eThekwini Municipality, Kwazulu Natal. The site was a vacant piece of land prior to the commencement of the construction however was being used extensively for semi commercial and subsistence agricultural use. The property currently consists a 2-storey residential dwelling with 4 apartments, a security hut and a boundary wall to the east and a small subsistence farm towards the west.

The residential development site is situated approximately 62m from the High Water Mark (HWM) of the sea. The topography of the site is relatively flat sloping down from the west to the east. The site is situated near the coast and located approximately 2.5km north of the Mdloti Estuary. The typical land use in the area consists primarily of agriculture (majority of semi – commercial and minor subsistence) and urban residential. The transport infrastructure includes South Dune Road, the M4 motorway and South Beach Road (which runs parallel to the M4 in the vicinity of the proposed development).

Vegetation

The development site consists of the majority of KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt Grassland. Although there is a small portion along the South Beach Road boundary which partially encompasses the Northern Coastal Forest. No protected or red listed species of vegetation were observed on site as majority of the land-cover consisted of typical cultivated crops although a significantly large variety of invasive alien plants were noted.

Five separate wetland units and four drainage channels were identified and mapped within 500m of the property with only two wetland types occurring on the property which have not been damaged or constructed on. All identified HGM units are best described as artificially created seepage (linked to a depression/pond) and depression storage (ponds).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The applicant of this Section 24G application has commenced the construction of a residential dwelling of 2 storeys with 4 apartments including a security hut, driveway, sewer, water and stormwater infrastructure and a boundary wall. The development had triggered a listed activity as per the EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended) as more than 5m³ of material has been excavated, moved and deposited within 100 metres of the HWM.

As part of this application potential environmental impacts will be assessed and a the following specialist studies identified to be conducted

 

Specialist Study	Specialist
Wetland Deliniation and Functional Assessment	Aeon Nexus
Ecological Assessment and Landscape Plan	Aeon Nexus

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT

The Environmental Impact Report will identify potential environmental impacts of the development and propose mitigation measures to ensure best environmental practice.

In terms of the National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) and associated EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended) there are a number of listed activities which may not commence without environmental authorisation from the competent authority.

Listed Activity

The listed activity triggered by the development is Activity 19A of Listing Notice 1 which states:

The infilling or depositing of any material of more than 5 cubic metres into, or the dredging, excavation, removal or moving of soil, sand, shells, shell grit, pebbles, or rock of more than 5 cubic metres from—
(i) the seashore;
(ii) the littoral active zone, an estuary or a distance of 100 metres inland of the highwater mark of the sea or an estuary, whichever distance is the greater; or
(iii) the sea; — but excluding where such infilling, depositing, dredging, excavation, removal or
moving—
(i) will occur behind a development setback;
(ii) is for maintenance purposes undertaken in accordance with a maintenance management plan;
(iii) falls within the ambit of activity 21 in this Notice, in which case that activity applies;
(iv) occurs within existing ports or harbours that will not increase the development footprint of the port or harbour; or where such development is related to the development of a port or harbour, in which case activity 26 in Listing Notice 2 of 2014 applies.

Water Use License

The development is within 500m of a wetland and so may trigger a Water Use License Application (WULA) or a General Authorisation for two water use activities as identified in Section 21 of the NWA:
• Section 21 (c) – impeding or diverting the flow of water in a watercourse; and
• Section 21 (i) – altering the bed, banks, course or characteristics of a watercourse.

 

REGISTER & COMMENT AS AN I&AP

If you consider yourself an I&AP for the development we encourage you to make use of the opportunities created by the Public Participation Process to become involved and raise any issues or concerns which affect and/or interest you. By completing and submitting the
accompanying registration form, we will ensure that you are registered as an I&AP for the project, and that your concerns or queries regarding the project will be noted. We will also ensure that you are provided with future information pertaining to the project as well as the availability of Environmental Impact Report for review and comment purposes.

Please direct all comments, queries or issues on this Section 24G application to Mr. Nazeer Jamal of Khweza Environmental Consulting through the form attached below

 

Background Information Document and I&APs Application Form – Lavin Naidoo Family Trust