The Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) has secured another victory as an application by Ardagh Glass Packaging, formerly Consol Glass, for a water use licence to mine silica sand in the area has failed again.
“The Water Tribunal ruling highlights the symbiotic and interdependent relationship of the PHA farmland and the Cape Flats Aquifer,” the PHA said.
“The farmland needs the aquifer because it allows for drought-proof farming that sustains the City’s food supply.
“The aquifer needs the farmlandbecause the farm landscape, farm sloots, seasonal wetlands and sand dunes are the natural recharge green infrastructure that sustain the well-being of the aquifer.
“Of the 12 reasons for its ruling, four are notable. Among other things, this application would destroy 55ha of wetlands.
“These four wetlands recharge the aquifer in winter months – the symbiotic relationship of the land and the aquifer.”
A Water Use Licence (WUL) is part of the mining application process, in which the impact of the mining activity on water resources specifically is assessed.
The PHA Food and Farming Campaign is a voluntary association that works to protect the horticultural area, which is a breadbasket of Cape Town with an ideal microclimate for producing horticultural crops, and the abundance of aquifer water.
This was the second time the licence was refused, following a November 2019 rejection. While Consol Glass had initially filed an appeal on September 14, the PHA said that it withdrew its appeal and commenced work on a new application with a new Environmental Assessment Practitioner, Umvoto Africa.
“In a clear conflict of interest Umvoto Africa is also employed by the City of Cape Town to manage and protect the Managed Aquifer Recharge programme in the Philippi Horticultural Area – the city’s water supply,” the PHA said.
The PHA has now called mayor Gordon-Hill Lewis to enact the Environmental Management Overlay (EMO) to protect the PHA foodland.
Deputy mayor and spatial planning and environment mayco member Eddie Andrews said: “We can confirm that the City granted an approval during 2017, for consent to operate mining activities on Portion 2 and 3 of Cape Farm 1378, Philippi.
However, the approval that was granted lapsed in July 2022 as the owner/applicant did not comply with the conditions of approval, nor have they exercised the rights that were granted at the time (in 2017).
Importantly: during the aforesaid process, there was extensive public participation that took place in the form of registered letters to surrounding property owners to advise them of the application and to comment.”
Neither the City or Umvoto responded to the conflict of interest allegations.
Ardagh Glass Packaging said it was committed to sound environmental practices and was disappointed that its second revised water licence application had been rejected.
“We will now explore the options available to us before making a decision on the way forward, including an appeal and/or reducing glass production in the Western Cape due to a limited supply of available raw material, until we come up with alternative solutions.
“Keysource Minerals/(Ardagh Glass Packaging) is sensitive to the value of the PHA and, as agreed with stakeholders, mining activities will be limited to the piece of land with low agricultural value identified for mining.
“As such, the company’s operations won’t have any material impact on the agricultural activities.
The existing silica mine in Athlone has been operational for over 60 years, providing significant economic benefit and employment to local communities.
“However, the existing mine is now running low on reserves (near depletion) and it is hoped that, in time, Keysource Minerals will replace this source. A good source of responsibly mined silica sand is critical for the future of glassmaking, foundry and water filtration industries, among others, in the Western Cape.”
Cape Times