48448 v2 BOTSWANA Morupule B Generation and Transmission Project Environmental Impact Assessment for Botswana Transmission Lines Executive Summary ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT BOTSWANA TRANSMISSION LINESFORTHEMMAMABULA ENERGY PROJECT BOTSWANA POWER CORPORATION MARCH 2007 DRAFT FORCOMMENTBY STAKEHOLDERSANDAUTHORITIES VOLUME 1OF3:TRANSMISSION LINEEIS VOLUME2OF3:APPENDIX A APPENDIX K - VOLUME3OF3:APPENDIXL Digby WellsPreparedBy : & Associates EnvironmentalSolutionsProvider PrivateBag X10046, Randburg,2125, SouthAfrica Tel : +27 (11) 789-9495 Fax :+27 (11) 789-9498 E-Mail :7 Environmental Solutions Provider MmamabulaEnergy Project BotswanaTransmissionLines EIS ENERGYB This report is confidential to the client and we accept no responsibility of whatsoever nature to third parties to whom this report, or any partthereof, is made known.Any suchpartyrelies onthe report at their own risk. While DWA takes reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information in this report, neither DWA nor any of its directors, officers or employees shall be heldresponsiblefor any losses or liabilities arisingfrom the use ofthis information. This report is providedsolely for the purposes set out in it and may not, in whole or inpart, be usedfor any other purposewithout DWA's prior written consent. This reportmay not, inwhole or inpart,bereproducedwithoutDWA's prior writtenconsent. Digby Wells & Associates 1 Mmamabula Energy Project BotswanaTransmissionLines EIS Executive Summary DigbyWells & Associates(DWA) has beenappointedby CIC Energy Corp (CIC) as independent environmental consultants to investigate the environmental and social aspects of a proposed transmissionlineproject inBotswana. Meepong Resources(Pty) Ltd (Meepong Resources) and MeepongEnergy (Pty) Ltd (Meepong Energy) are Botswana based companies wholly owned by CIC Energy Corp (CIC). Meepong Resourceshas the rightsto explorefor coal resourcesinthe Mmamabulacoal field, situatedinthe Central District of Botswana, adjacent in the vicinity of the villages of Mmaphashalala and Dovedale.MeepongEnergy is the EnvironmentalImpact Statement(EIS) applicant for thepower plant while Meepong Resources will be applying for the coal mine. This proposed combined project is called the Mmamabula Energy Project (MEP) and, if approved, would include the development of coal mines; the construction of a power plant and the development of transmission lines to carry power to various areas of Botswana and South Africa. Althoughthe funding for the transmission lines will be included in the MEP, ownership will ultimately rest with the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). BPC is thus the EIS applicant for the proposed transmissionlines. This report is an EIS, which will identify the positive and negative environmental impacts and feasible alternatives.Inaddition, it will provide management plans to mitigate predictedadverse impacts, manage residual effects as well as deal with relocation and compensationframeworks. These planswill be implementedduring construction,project operationandclosure. Legal Reauirements Botswana has seen significant changes to the environmental legislative and administrative frameworks within the last few years culminating in the promulgation of the Environmental ImpactAssessment Act, Act 6 of2005, andthe creationofthe Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT) with a mandate to coordinate environmentalconservationandprotection. The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is mandatedto implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Act which requires that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) be completed for the project area and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) subsequently approved. In addition to the DEA, several additional permits and licenses will be requiredfrom severalBotswanaGovernmentDepartmentsfor the successfulimplementationofthe MEP. DigbyWells & Associates ii MmamabulaEnergy ProjectBotswanaTransmissionLines EIS Proiect Description A separate EIS will be submitted for the proposed Mmamabula mine and power plant as well as for the MEP ancillary activities such as the potential wellfield project. This EIS has been compiledfor the proposedtransmissionline project only. The proposedtransmissionline project includes: 0 A 400kV line running north past Mahalapyeto the proposedMorupule B power station outside Palapye. From there it will go on to the Phokoje substation, outside Selebi Phikwe. In addition there will be four 400kV lines running east, from the Mmamabula power plantto the LimpopoRiver andthe SouthAfricanborder. 0 Although this report only covers the lines within Botswana, these lines will continue in SouthAfrica to the proposedDelta substation. 0 A corridor for a 400kV line to the proposedMosaditshwenisubstation, north ofMochudi was also included inthe assessment, althoughthe development ofthis line will not form a component of the MEP. The EIA also evaluated a proposed 66kV line from Phokojeto the mine andpower plant area, which will be usedto supply power for constructionand commissioning. Proiect Alternatives Project alternatives are different means of meetingthe general purpose and need of a proposed activity. Alternatives may includeprocess or technology alternatives, location or site alternatives, activity alternatives, temporal alternatives or the no-goalternative. Inorder to transmit power from the proposedMmamabulaPower Plant, transmissionlines are the only availabletechnology and, inthis regard, there are no alternatives. A number of route alternatives were, however, considered in this study. Two alternatives were providedfor the lines betweenthe proposedMmamabulaPower Plant andthe proposed Morupule B as well as betweenthe proposed Mmamabula Power Plant and the proposed Mosaditshweni substation. As the 66kV lines will share corridors with the 400kV lines, similar routealternatives Digby Wells & Associates iii Mmamabula Energy Project BotswanaTransmission Lines EIS will apply. Four alternative corridors, with an additional fifth Limpopo River crossingpoint, for the lines to SouthAfrica were assessed. Fewer impacts are anticipated for the route alternative running adjacent to the existing 220kV lines between Gaborone and Selebi Phikwe and this i s recommended as the preferred route alignment for this section of the transmission lines. As the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the South African section of the transmission lines is inan early stage, the final route alignment for these lines has not been identified. Although a number of aspects will have to be taken into account in deciding on the preferred alternative, there is no fatal flaw for any of the alternatives within Botswana and all the options will remain a possibility untilthe South African EIA is complete. Alternative line voltages are also another variation that was considered for the project but increasingthe line voltage will not affect the number of lines as this has been determinedby risk of failure rather thancarrying capacity. Alternative land uses for the project area have been identified as housing, livestock grazing, various crops andtourism. Although the aesthetics ofthe area will be affectedby the transmission lines, which may impact on tourism, all these land uses can continue relatively undisturbedonce the lines havebeenstrung. The no project option would mean the Mmamabula Power Plant would not be constructed and therefore this alternative can only be considered in conjunction with the MEP no project alternative. If this occurred there would be none of the negative impacts associated with the project but there would also be no benefit to the Botswana economy, which would be substantial. Project Benefits & Motivation Although a separate EIS has been compiled for the transmission line component of the MEP, these lines have a direct co-dependence with the development of the Mmamabula Power Plant andthe motivation for them cannot, therefore, be consideredinisolation. Energy plays a pivotal role in economic growth and improving livelihoodof people. Inthe near future it is expectedthat there will bemore electricity neededby peopleliving inSouthernAfrica than can be supplied by existing power plants. The development of the MEP would therefore provide a new and important source of power supply for Botswanaand SouthAfrica. The MEP will benefit the local, regionalandnational Botswanaeconomy interms ofjob creation, economic growth, social development, skills development and the provision of infrastructureand services. The MEP and associated activities will provide a boost to the district economy through Digby Wells & Associates iv MmamabulaEnergy ProjectBotswanaTransmissionLines EIS the establishment of a range of businesses, services, public transport and improved access. Employment opportunities will be created with an additional benefit of community uplifiment. The resulting economic multiplier effect will ensurethat new businesses are createdandthe wage economy inthe area is substantiallyenhanced. Additionally, the MEP will contributetowards skills development and technology transfer, while the project would greatly benefit the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through addressing some ofthe region's power needs. The energy demand inthe Southern Africa region is expectedto exceedthe available supply by 2007. Public Participation Process A Public Participation Process (PPP) has been followed for the MEP. The process has been incorporatedinto a Public Consultationand Disclosure Plan (PCDP) which includes the findings of the authorities and public participatory meetings held at the national and district levels as well as meetings inthe villages alongthe proposedtransmission line routes. The PPP is not aimed at avoiding conflict but rather at facilitating a process inwhich people feel heard and included in decision-making and project design and where satisfactory outcomes are identified. Although this process has been initiated during the EIA phase of the project, it will continuethrough constructionand operation. Environmental Status The baseline environmental aspects that were studied included climate, topography, soil, surface and groundwater, air quality, noise, visual assessment, fauna and flora, archaeology, social aspects and economics. Climate The climate of the region, through which the proposedtransmission line will pass, is semi-arid. Though it is hot and dry for much of the year, there is a rainy season, which runs through the summer months. Rainfalltends to be erratic, unpredictableandhighlyregional. Showers are often followed by strong sunshine so that largevolumes of rainfall do not penetratethe groundbut are lost to evaporationandtranspiration. The prevailing wind direction of the region is northeast. On average, the temperature ranges between 2.65"C inwinter andup to 41.35"C insummer. Rainfall occurs betweenthe months of October and March, with the dry season commencinginmidApril continuing until September. The annual average rainfall recorded for the study area is 445 mm. The annual total evaporationis observedto be inthe region of-2 520 mm. Digby Wells & Associates V MmamabulaEnergy ProjectBotswanaTransmission LinesEIS Apart from the Tswapongand MaifalaHills, the study area is dominatedby a low relief plainand featureless veld. There are a number of perennial rivers draining the area that will have to be spanned by the transmission lines. These are the Bonwapitse, Limpopo, Ramatanka, Mhalatswe, Thangwane, Mahunwane, DikabeyaandMmaitsokwaneRivers. Soil The major soil groups that will be crossed by the proposed transmission routes are mostly Arenosols and Luvisols, with small areas of Lixisols. They are mostly found on fine-grained and coarse-grained sedimentary rocks e.g. sandstone. Luvisols have an accumulation of clay (15- 25%) and a higher fertility, while Arenosols are coarse, sandy soils with weak structure and low fertility. In general the soils are sandy with a low clay content (