Expansion of the Vygekraal Cemetery, Rylands

Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the proposed expansion of the Vygekraal Cemetery and associated infrastructure on Erf 171553 and Erf 171554, Rylands was obtained on 11 September 2015. A condition of the EA requires that dewatering be undertaken in order to maintain groundwater levels at approximately 2 m below burial depth. An Amendment to the EA would be required in order for dewatering to a shallower depth to be implemented. SLR has been appointed by the Vygekraal Cemetery Board as the independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner to undertake the Part 2 (substantive) EA Amendment process.

Status

Since significant changes have been made to the draft EA Amendment Report, and significant new information added to the draft report, a revised EA Amendment Report has been compiled and distributed for review and comment as part of the EA Amendment process. The report also includes an update of the Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) approved as part of the EA for the cemetery expansion.

The revised EA Amendment Report has been distributed for an additional 30-day comment period from 16 May to 15 June 2023. For comments to be included in the final EA Amendment Report to be submitted to DEA&DP for decision-making, comments should reach SLR by no later than 15 June 2023.

The full report is available for download below.