Tongaat Hulett’s plant proposal
TONGAAT residents are angry over a proposed Effluent Treatment Plant to be constructed in the area.
Tensions ran high at a community meeting in Maidstone last week between residents and Tongaat Hulett management, as over sixty residents vented their concern over Tongaat Hulett’s proposed plans that many believe will be hazardous to the longevity of their beloved hometown.
The proposed plant is to be built in the vicinity of the Maidstone Sugar Mill near the Tongaati River bank.
According to representatives of Tongaat Hulett at the meeting, the plant has been in the pipeline since 2012, and would be state of the art technology providing a sustainable long-term solution to treat by-products generated by the sugar mill, before discharging it into the Tongaati River.
Residents, however, refused to accept the proposal believing plans were sugar-coated.
76-year-old Anil Hurban was among many who voiced their concerns about the potential health hazards.
Hurban, a prominent figure in the community, lauded the company for its role in local employment but questioned the aftermath of the project, fearing Tongaat would turn into a town of machinery.
He said, “Every factory needs to develop but it needs to be done right, we don’t know what’s going to happen when treated waste enters the river. I even asked what the backup plan would be since this is only the proposal but they didn’t answer.”
Similarly, residents wondered why the plant would be built in the middle of their community, and where effluent is currently being disposed of.
Environmental scientist, Khalid Mather, believed negative effects would unfold in the long-run, citing that vast environmental impacts were overlooked.
He said, “There’s going to be resistance pollution because if extra water is taken out of a river or inserted into a river, the speed of the river is impacted which has a ripple effect. Resistance pollution is also going to affect fish species because they may only survive under certain conditions meant for their habitat”.
The river bank would be in danger of eroding if the speed of the water was too fast, or if the speed was too slow it might cause sedimentation (additional soil deposited onto the river bank).
“At the meeting, toxicology reports revealed that aquatic and amphibian life would not be affected but many creatures are seasonal, and that’s where the project could fail because they (researchers) may have not tested the river throughout the year to understand the different impacts on various creatures that live seasonally in the habitat,” said Mather.
Desmond D’sa, of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, criticised Maidstone Mill management for failing to include the public in the entire proposal process.
D’sa advised, “We need a peer review of the plans, the community needs a site visit, and the May 31st deadline for public comment needs to be extended.”
Tongaat Hulett’s communication executive, Michelle Jean-louis, stated, “The construction of the plant has been planned given that Tongaat Hulett’s other mills have similar facilities and we have commenced the process of applying for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval.”
Member of Parliament, Tim Brauteseth, assured residents at the meeting that councillors would maintain oversight into developments and advised that public participation should continue.