The Bhangazi Community Trust was granted permission by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, to develop a tourism facility within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in KwaZulu-Natal. In an effort to exercise this right, the Bhangazi Trust proposes to develop a Cultural Heritage Lodge on a portion of the 9.94 ha piece of land allocated, which will consist of a 60-bed accommodation facility (including staffing quarters). The site is located along the Main Road to Cape Vidal in the Mtubatuba Local Municipality within the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. It lies along the fringe of a small south-eastern extension of Lake Bhangazi, just west of the St Lucia road before it crosses the coastal dune belt to Cape Vidal.
An application for Environmental Authorisation (EA) was submitted to the National Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) (formerly the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)) in accordance with the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), as amended, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations (Government Notice R. 326), as amended in 2017. Furthermore, a Basic Assessment Report (BAR) was submitted to the DEFF for adjudication purposes on 16 July 2019.
A decision on the application was subsequently delivered by DEFF on 30 October 2019, where the EA was refused. The key reasons listed for the refusal of EA centred around the contention that the EIA process was not compliant with Regulation 44(1) of the 2014 EIA Regulations (which speaks to the recording of comments of Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) in the project reports to be submitted for evaluation by the competent authority), as well as certain concerns about the proposed layout of facilities with respect to the potential sensitivities of the site.
The applicant decided to exercise their right to appeal the DEFF’s decision, where an appeal was submitted following site visits with the authorities as well as updates to the site layout in order to address the concerns raised by the I&APs. In the DEFF’s decision on the appeal, two of the reasons cited for refusal of the EA were dismissed and one was upheld. The ground that was upheld called for the updating of the BAR to account for the changes to the site layout. The DEFF also ruled that a new Public Participation Process (PPP) would need to be initiated to afford the public an opportunity to comment on the revised BAR.
In this regard, ERM has revised the BAR based on the new layout and has initiated a new PPP. In compliance with the Disaster Management Act (57/2002): Directions Regarding Measures to Address, Prevent and Combat the Spread of COVID-19 Relating to National Environmental Management Permits and Licences (05 June 2020), a Public Participation Process Plan has been developed to detail how the new PPP will be undertaken. This Plan was approved by DEFF on 13 August 2020.
The updated BAR, the updated Comments and Response Report (CRR) from the previous consultation process, including responses received from I&APs regarding the DEFF’s decisions and outcomes of the BAR adjudication and appeal process are below.
The BAR is available for review and comment from 23 July to 23 August 2021.
Draft Basic Assessment – 22 July 2021
Bhangazi Lodge Basic Assessment Report
Annex B - Environmental Management Programme
Annex C - Stakeholder Engagement Part 1
Annex C - Stakeholder Engagement Part 2
Annex C - Stakeholder Engagement Part 3
Annex C - Stakeholder Engagement Part 4
Annex C - Stakeholder Engagement Part 5
Annex D - Comments and Responses Report
Annex E - Specialist Studies and Declarations Part 1
Annex E - Specialist Studies and Declarations Part 2
Annex E - Specialist Studies and Declarations Part 3
Annex F - EAP Declaration and Undertaking
Annex H - Exceptional Circumstances Letter
Annex J - Letter from iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority