Question no

QUESTION NO. 870

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 15 of 2008

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30 May 2008

Mr G R Morgan (DA) to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism:

(1) Whether (a) systems and (b) technology are in place in (i) Table Bay and (ii) in the vicinity of Koeberg Power Station to respond to the challenge of an oil spill; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether his department has the required personnel to deal with such a challenge; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether there are particular challenges in this area when responding to an oil spill; if not, how was this conclusion reached; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1561E

MR G R MORGAN (DA)

SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

870. THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM ANSWERS:

(1) Yes. Response equipment managed by the Department is stationed at Paarden Island in Cape Town. An aircraft is also available to conduct aerial assessments. The Department’s Environmental Protection Vessels are available to disperse oil slicks mechanically, or chemically if necessary. Response equipment is further available at the ports of Cape Town and Saldanha, and there are specialized service providers available in the area to assist if necessary. The Koeberg Power Station has developed its own spill response plan and has acquired equipment to prevent the ingression of oil into the station’s Cooling Water Intake Basin.
(2) Yes. An oil spill response unit is based at the Branch: Marine and Coastal Management (Cape Town), and is capable of implementing or coordinating response operations in accordance with well-established contingency plans. Depending on the cause and extent of the spill, assistance may be requested from local authorities, the oil and petroleum industry itself, or specialized maritime service providers.
(3) No. However, as is the case with any other coastal zone in South Africa, there are a number of interested and affected parties that could potentially have a role to play in combating an oil spill, ongoing communication and liaison are critical to ensure that such parties are fully conversant with predefined response procedures. The Department intends to review its Coastal Contingency Plan for the Cape Zone, as part of a broader process to update its entire suite of Coastal Contingency Plans in South Africa. Each review will be coupled with a local workshop to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are conversant with the contents thereof.


Question 871
Mrs J A Semple (DA) to ask the Minister for Public Enterprises:
(1) Whether a study has been conducted to assess the potential risk of an oil spill to the safety and integrity of the Koeberg Power Station; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether the abovementioned station would be required to close down in the event of an oil spill occurring adjacent to the station; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether systems are currently in place at this station to respond to an oil spill; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) whether it is in line with best practice technology or processes currently available; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1562

Reply:
(1) The design of the Koeberg power station took into account the threats of an off shore oil spill and the risk that this could pose to the safety of the station. An oil spill, if allowed to enter the cooling water intake basin could compromise the plant’s cooling ability. Detailed studies were undertaken to assess this risk. Emergency procedures for this event were developed, involving a number of mitigating actions, including the deployment of an oil boom.
(2) In the event of a severe oil spill in the vicinity of the Koeberg intake basin, the emergency procedure would be activated, which could include the deployment of an oil boom. Further mitigating steps would include decreasing the power generated to reduce the flow of water in the intake basin. The power station could also be shutdown completely to protect the safety systems.
(3) Emergency procedures were developed to manage a possible oil threat to the intake basin. The procedures address power level and the deployment of an oil boom and associated equipment to protect the intake basin. Exercises are done annually to assure the ongoing capability to properly deploy the oil boom and associated equipment.
(4) The emergency oil spill procedure and oil boom equipment have taken into account world wide benchmarking exercises and operational experiences gained from international nuclear power utilities. The oil boom was selected as it meets the requirements of the intake basin in the event of an oil spill.

QUESTION NO. 872

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 15 of 2008

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30 May 2008

Mr G R Morgan (DA) to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism:

(1) Whether his department’s comments on the environmental impact assessment and environmental management plan regarding a certain proposed mining development (name furnished) were submitted to the regional director of the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) within the required time-frames of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002); if not, why not; if so, how was this conclusion reached;

(2) whether the comments were submitted after the cut off date; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1563E

MR G R MORGAN (DA)

SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT

HANSARD

PAPERS OFFICE

PRESS

872. THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM ANSWERS:

1. 
   The department was awarded, in terms of the provisions of the Minerals & Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002, three opportunities to comment on Environmental Reports related to the Xolebeni Mining Development application, namely in May 2007 on Environmental Scoping Report, in September 2007 on the revised Scoping Report and in November 2007 on the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Draft Environmental Management Programme (EMPR).
   

Comprehensive comments stipulating both the department’s concerns and additional authorization requirements stemming from the National Environmental Management Act of 1998 were submitted to the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) on all three occasions. Whilst the comments on the Scoping Report and the Revised Scoping Report were submitted within the prescribed time frames, the comments on the draft EIR and EMPR were due to an administrative error not submitted by the due date, 21 December 2007.

2. 
   As indicated above, failure to submit on time was due to an administrative error. Whilst the response was signed by the Acting Chief Director: Environmental Impact Management and uploaded on the departmental electronic document management system on 20 December 2007 for the Director General’s consideration, senior management was not alerted to the urgency of the matter due to staff being away over the festive season. Follow-up was only made after the due date.
   

In light of previous refusal by the DME to extend time frames or to accept late comments, the comments were only submitted to DME in March after verbal agreement was reached with the DME in this regard.

Corrective measures have however been put in place to prevent such an error from re-occurring.

QUESTION NO 873
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30 MAY 2008

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 15)

Mr I F Julies (DA) to ask the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry:

(1) Whether her department has conducted an energy audit to determine its (a) use of energy and (b) opportunities for reduction of energy use; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether her department has any plans to reduce energy consumption; if not, why not; if so, what plans;

(3) whether her department has made any material reduction in energy use since 1 January 2008; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1564E

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REPLY:
(1) The Department of water affairs and forestry has not conducted its own energy audit. Since the Department of Public Works is the designated lead department for the ‘Intensive campaign on energy efficiency in government buildings’ project, it will assign the audit to the relevant Energy Services Company (ESCO) on behalf of the Department.

(2) The Department is already implementing measures to reduce energy consumption in line with its Thirty Nine Point Plan on Energy Saving.

(3) Besides the energy reduction measures that are currently being implemented, security officials conduct inspections at specific times during the day and ensure that the Department reaches the target of 25% reduction set for all government buildings. These security officials also provide feedback to individual offices on their adherence to the Plan.

QUESTION NO. 875
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30 MAY 2008

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 15)

Mr E W Trent (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:

(a) What was the total cost for restructuring the SA National Aids Council (Sanac) in 2003, (b) how much was (i) allocated, (ii) spent and (iii) overspent by Sanac in (aa) 2003, (bb) 2004 and (cc) 2005, (c) how many times did the Sanac executive meet in (i) 2003, (ii) 2004 and (iii) 2005 and (d) what was the actual cost of each meeting?

NW1566E

REPLY:

1. 
   South African National Aids Council (SANAC) was not restructured in 2003. In 2006, SANAC decided to conduct an internal review with a view to improve its efficiency. Building on the findings of that review, which encompassed strengths, weaknesses and challenges, SANAC was restructured into three tier structure in April 2007. SANAC met four times to discuss the restructuring, the cost of which was R559, 566.76 including the inauguration meeting and multisectoral consultations.
   

2. 
   Please see Table below
   

SANAC TOTAL COST

2003 (aa)
(i) Allocated	(ii) Spent	(iii) Overspent
There was no dedicated budget for SANAC. The budget that was used was from Directorate: HIV & AIDS and the allocated budget was R6,285,000	R786,289	Nil
2004 (bb)
(i) Allocated	(ii) Spent	(iii) Overspent
R2, 408,000	R2,083,916	Nil
2005 (cc)
(i) Allocated	(ii) Spent	(iii) Overspent
R2,281,000	R2,205,141	Nil

3. 
   SANAC EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
   

Since 2003 – 2005, SANAC executive met six times
2003: 2 meetings (i)
21 January 2003	(d) No dedicated budget. No Record
27 May 2003	(d) No dedicated budget. No Record
2004: 2 meetings (ii)
6 October 2004	(d) R28,011,00 was the actual cost of the meeting
11 November 2004	(d) R936,00 was the actual cost of the meeting
2005: 2 meetings (iii)
21 October 2005	(d) R4,101,00 was the actual cost of the meeting
27 October 2005	(d) R1,005,00 was the actual cost of the meeting