Part 2 - Eskom

ENVIRONMENTAL SCOPING REPORT FOR THE PROPOSED 40MW OPEN CYCLE GAS TURBINE POWER
PLANT IN THE AMERSFOORT AREA, MPUMALANGA
Bohlweki-SSI Environmental
Farming on or near the project site is characterised by both dryland crop farming, and
animal husbandry (mostly cattle farming). There are several small communities of
workers living in the area in addition to landowners or tenants. The new plant will
occupy a small footprint but the gas cleaning and distribution facilities will be spread
over a large area. This may increase the negative economic impact of the project.
7.2.5. Heritage
• Stone Age
No information about Stone Age habitation of the area is available. There might
be two reasons for this. Firstly, it is unlikely that Stone Age people would have
occupied the area specific, as it would have been to cold and no shelters or
caves exists locally that could be used to shelter in. Secondly, no systematic
survey of the area has been done and, as a result, no sites have been reported.
• Iron Age
Iron Age people started to settle in southern Africa c. AD 300, with one of the
oldest known sites at Silver Leaves, south east of Tzaneen dating to AD 270.
However, Iron Age occupation of the eastern highveld area (including the study
area) did not start much before the 1500s. Some sites dating to the Late Iron Age
is known to exist to the north west of the study area.
• Historic period
The historical period in this area starts with the arrival of early missionaries,
hunters and traders, followed later by the Voortrekkers, who settled permanently
and started to farm in the area and developed a number of towns. The town of
Amersfoort was founded in 1876 and proclaimed in 1888. During the Anglo Boer
War (1899-1902), some skirmishes took place in the region 7 .
7.2.6. Noise
The noise climate (ambient noise condition) in the Amersfoort area is quiet and is
representative of a rural (farming) noise district (SANS 10103). There are a number
of major noise sources in the area namely the existing Majuba Power Station, the
traffic on the main roads, coal trucks transporting coal to Majuba Power Station and
the coal supply railway line to the power station. The noise sensitive sites/areas are
Amersfoort town (approximately 12 km from the Majuba Power Station) and various
farm houses and farm labourer residences in the surrounding area (on farms
Palmietspruit; Strydkraal; Tweedepoort, Koppieskraal, Rietfontein; Weiland and
Bergvliet).
7.2.7. Traffic
There are a number of major roads and secondary roads servicing the study area.
These include:
i) National Road N11, which links Amersfoort to Volksrust is aligned in a northsouth
direction through the eastern sector of the study area.
7 Cloete, P.G, 2000. The Anglo-Boer War: A Chronology. Pretoria: JP van der Walt. Pp. 243.
E02.JNB.000308
ESKOM HOLDINGS LIMITED
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08/10/2009