1. Objective of the Scoping Process
The objective of the scoping process is to, through a consultative process—
| (a) |
identify the relevant policies and legislation relevant to the activity; |
| (b) |
motivate the need and desirability of the proposed activity, including the need and desirability of the activity in the context of the preferred location; |
| (c) |
identify and confirm the preferred activity and technology alternative through an identification of impacts and risks and ranking process of such impacts and risks; |
| (d) |
identify and confirm the preferred site, through a detailed site selection process, which includes an identification of impacts and risks inclusive of identification of cumulative impacts and a ranking process of all the identified alternatives focusing on the geographical, physical, biological, social, economic, and cultural aspects of the environment; |
| (e) |
identify the key issues to be addressed in the assessment phase; |
| (f) |
agree on the level of assessment to be undertaken, including the methodology to be applied, the expertise required as well as the extent of further consultation to be undertaken to determine the impacts and risks the activity will impose on the preferred site through the life of the activity, including the nature, significance, consequence, extent, duration and probability of the impacts to inform the location of the development footprint within the preferred site; and |
| (g) |
identify suitable measures to avoid, manage or mitigate identified impacts and to determine the extent of the residual risks that need to be managed and monitored. |
2. Content of the scoping report
| (1) |
A scoping report must contain the information that is necessary for a proper understanding of the process, informing all preferred alternatives, including location alternatives, the scope of the assessment, and the consultation process to be undertaken through the environmental impact assessment process, and must include— |
(a) details of—
| (i) |
the EAP who prepared the report; and |
| (ii) |
the expertise of the EAP, including a curriculum vitae; |
| (b) |
the location of the activity, including— |
| (i) |
the 21 digit Surveyor General code of each cadastral land parcel; |
| (ii) |
where available, the physical address and farm name; |
| (iii) |
where the required information in items (i) and (ii) is not available, the coordinates of the boundary of the property or properties; |
| (c) |
a plan which locates the proposed activity or activities applied for at an appropriate scale, or, if it is— |
| (i) |
a linear activity, a description and coordinates of the corridor in which the proposed activity or activities is to be undertaken; or |
| (ii) |
on land where the property has not been defined, the coordinates within which the activity is to be undertaken; |
| (d) |
a description of the scope of the proposed activity, including— |
| (i) |
all listed and specified activities triggered; |
| (ii) |
a description of the activities to be undertaken, including associated structures and infrastructure; |
| (e) |
a description of the policy and legislative context within which the development is proposed including an identification of all legislation, policies, plans, guidelines, spatial tools, municipal development planning frameworks and instruments that are applicable to this activity and are to be considered in the assessment process; |
| (f) |
a motivation for the need and desirability for the proposed development including the need and desirability of the activity in the context of the preferred location; |
| (g) |
a full description of the process followed to reach the proposed preferred activity, site and location of the development footprint within the site, including— |
| (i) |
details of all the alternatives considered; |
| (ii) |
details of the public participation process undertaken in terms of regulation 41 of the Regulations, including copies of the supporting documents and inputs; |
| (iii) |
a summary of the issues raised by interested and affected parties, and an indication of the manner in which the issues were incorporated, or the reasons for not including them; |
| (iv) |
the environmental attributes associated with the alternatives focusing on the geographical, physical, biological, social, economic, heritage and cultural aspects; |
| (v) |
the impacts and risks which have informed the identification of each alternative, including the nature, significance, consequence, extent, duration and probability of such identified impacts, including the degree to which these impacts— |
| (bb) |
may cause irreplaceable loss of resources; and |
| (cc) |
can be avoided, managed or mitigated; |
| (vi) |
the methodology used in identifying and ranking the nature, significance, consequences, extent, duration and probability of potential environmental impacts and risks associated with the alternatives; |
| (vii) |
positive and negative impacts that the proposed activity and alternatives will have on the environment and on the community that may be affected focusing on the geographical, physical, biological, social, economic, heritage and cultural aspects; |
| (viii) |
the possible mitigation measures that could be applied and level of residual risk; |
| (ix) |
the outcome of the site selection matrix; |
| (x) |
if no alternatives, including alternative locations for the activity were investigated, the motivation for not considering such; and |
| (xi) |
a concluding statement indicating the preferred alternatives, including preferred location of the activity; |
| (h) |
a plan of study for undertaking the environmental impact assessment process to be undertaken, including— |
| (i) |
a description of the alternatives to be considered and assessed within the preferred site, including the option of not proceeding with the activity; |
| (ii) |
a description of the aspects to be assessed as part of the environmental impact assessment process; |
| (iii) |
aspects to be assessed by specialists; |
| (iv) |
a description of the proposed method of assessing the environmental aspects, including aspects to be assessed by specialists; |
| (v) |
a description of the proposed method of assessing duration and significance; |
| (vi) |
an indication of the stages at which the competent authority will be consulted; |
| (vii) |
particulars of the public participation process that will be conducted during the environmental impact assessment process; and |
| (viii) |
a description of the tasks that will be undertaken as part of the environmental impact assessment process; |
| (ix) |
identify suitable measures to avoid, reverse, mitigate or manage identified impacts and to determine the extent of the residual risks that need to be managed and monitored. |
| (i) |
an undertaking under oath or affirmation by the EAP in relation to— |
| (i) |
the correctness of the information provided in the report; |
| (ii) |
the inclusion of comments and inputs from stakeholders and interested and affected parties; and |
| (iii) |
any information provided by the EAP to interested and affected parties and any responses by the EAP to comments or inputs made by interested or affected parties; |
| (j) |
an undertaking under oath or affirmation by the EAP in relation to the level of agreement between the EAP and interested and affected parties on the plan of study for undertaking the environmental impact assessment; |
| (k) |
where applicable, any specific information required by the competent authority; and |
| (2) |
Where a government notice gazetted by the Minister provides for any protocol or minimum information requirement to be applied to a scoping report, the requirements as indicated in such notice will apply. |
[Appendix 2 substituted by section 326 of 2017]
Statistics Act, 1999
