Witz letter 30 Jan 2009

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=30 BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" style=" border-left: 1px solid #3366CC;" BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Tulbagh Info Information</B></div> <div> Witz letter 30 Jan 2009</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="120" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#0099CC HEIGHT= 15 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="local_news.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tulbagh News Page 2"><U>Back to Local News</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> 30 January, 2009</div> <bR> <div> Hello David,<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>ETLAC's presentation to Council meeting of the Witzenberg Municipality regarding the Proposed 765kv </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Power Lines that are proposed to traverse the Tulbagh, Upper Witzenberg and Ceres valleys.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Thank you for giving me an opportunity to address Council. I believe it was a very worthwhile (albeit long overdue) interaction and the response seemed VERY positive and I believe we can look forward to a greater deal of involvement and co-operation from the Municipality from this point on in respect of this matter. I was especially impressed by the suggestion of one of your Councillors to the meeting, that Council should interact with neighbouring municipalities with regards to this problem to ensure that they and their communities have also been adequately informed consulted with. I would also suggest that this includes the Winelands District Municipality. </div> <bR> <div> As soon as I am able to get the Critical Viewpoint Analysis pictures prepared, I will adjust the PowerPoint presentation and send it to you. I will also publish the photos to <U>www.tulbagh.net</U>. As mentioned in my presentation, this aspect of both the EIA and the HIA applications was never undertaken by Eskom and therefore a vital part of the information process was omitted (I believe deliberately) and this why the community is not aware of the impact that this power line will have on their environment and sense of place. </div> <bR> <div> Herewith also copy of Protocol from DEAP for dealing with EIA applications over the festive period for your information.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Herewith the text of our comments submitted. Kindly ask your secretary to distribute same to all the Councillors (and the relevant officials too? The latter would benefit by the knowledge)?<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Without being seen to be prescriptive or presumptuous, we will be very happy if Council rescinds their decision to support the power line and will furthermore hopefully address a letter to the Consultants of Eskom, Eskom itself, The Department of Environmental Affairs and Planning and the Minister of Environment Planning and Tourism, requesting that the entire EIA community participation process be recommenced with and that the ROD be overturned, due to the fact that the Municipality and broader community of Witzenberg, were never and are still not being properly consulted with in terms of the requirements of BOTH the EIA and the HIA applications. </div> <bR> <div> Kind regards,<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> John Veschini<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> ETLAC</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=28 style=" border-top: 1px solid #0066CC; border-left: 1px solid #0066CC;border-right: 1px solid #0066CC; border-bottom: 1px solid #0066CC;" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>