Estonia's Defence Ministry vows to protect Aidu groundwater from planned explosives plant

Estonia's Ministry of Defence is planning two defence industry parks in Ida-Viru County. The first is set for Põhja-Kiviõli, where a state special plan has already been approved and a suitable company chosen. The second would be built in the Aidu area, on the site of a former oil shale quarry where extraction stopped nearly 15 years ago.

The Defence Ministry considered the former industrial zone in Aidu well suited for a new industrial park, and a strategic environmental impact assessment commissioned by the ministry found no serious ecological concerns.

A recovering ecosystem

However, newly published research on the water bodies in the Aidu quarry shows that a viable ecosystem has formed there over the past 15 years. The quarry's ponds now host a protected fish species, the European bullhead, indicating very clean water.

Siret Valge, a project manager in the Climate Ministry's water resources department, said the flora and fauna in Aidu's water bodies are recovering, but the planned explosives plant risks releasing substances into the ponds that could again degrade conditions. She noted that the groundwater layer at Aidu is essentially unprotected, meaning contamination could spread easily and would be very difficult to remove.

Another concern is the Purtse River, which took considerable time, effort and money to clean of residual pollution left by the oil shale industry. Valge said water discharged from the explosives plant must meet quality standards so as not to harm the Purtse river basin.

Ministries pledge coordination

Indrek Sirp, special adviser on defence industry development at the Defence Ministry, acknowledged that the research on Aidu's water bodies came as news to the ministry, but said experts would closely review the Climate Ministry's position and the study in the coming weeks and adjust the environmental impact assessment accordingly. He stressed the guiding principle that the industrial park's operations must not harm either surface or groundwater.

Both ministries confirm that although the park's developers will face stricter environmental requirements than before, the new findings on the water bodies' ecological condition are not expected to affect the construction timeline for the explosives plant. A public discussion of the strategic environmental impact assessment report is still to come, while the park's spatial plan is expected to be approved this autumn.