GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has been asked to elevate the environmental concerns about seismic surveys and deep-sea gas drilling along the southern coast of South Africa to central government.
In an open letter to Winde on behalf of the Plettenberg Bay Community Environment Forum, Julie Carlisle asked Winde for help to respect "our voices and our needs".
The letter says, "The coastline of South Africa faces an onslaught by multi-national organisations from the north, intent on using South Africa in their frenzied grab for resources, and ultimately, money."
The decision to grant approval for a seismic survey between Plettenberg Bay and Gqeberha was announced last week, shortly after protesters took to the streets of Plett in opposition to the plan to conduct deep-sea gas drilling between Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay.
'Not any detrimental risks'
On 16 November, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) granted an environmental authorisation to conduct the seismic survey to the UK-based international company CGG Services SAS (CGG).
DMRE director-general Jacob Mbele said his department "is satisfied" that the proposed activities will not be in conflict with the objectives of the Integrated Environmental Management and will not result in any detrimental risks to the environment and public.
The application area is located offshore of the Eastern Cape Province, between Gqeberha and Plettenberg Bay, about 120km to the south-east. It covers several petroleum licence blocks and covers an area of about 21 750km².
If the seismic survey granted to CGG goes ahead, it will cross various concession blocks where gas drilling can potentially take place in future. Objectors have 20 days to respond.
According to documentation, the survey will take four to five months to complete, starting from January 2024. It needs to be completed within two years of the approval date.
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