State plans to build explosives plant in Piirsalu

Estonia is planning to build an explosives plant in Piirsalu village in Lääne County, ERR reported. A strategic environmental impact assessment has been completed, and the government is expected to approve the special plan in October.

The Lääne-Nigula municipal government voted in favour of the plan, but many Piirsalu residents say decisions are being made without their involvement.

Piirsalu has a defence forces tactical area and a Defence League shooting range. The location was once a Soviet missile base. The planned plant would produce up to 1,200 tonnes of hexogen a year and create at least 75 jobs.

“In regions with a declining population, the arrival of jobs has some impact. Since a sufficient number of better-paid jobs are expected there, this is quite an important argument,” Lääne-Nigula municipal mayor Janno Randmaa said.

Sven Köster, chairman of the Lääne-Nigula municipal council, who lives a few kilometres from the planned plant, said he did not consider it a threat.

“It is a proper chemical plant that meets European standards. During the Soviet period, Soviet military personnel were there. With their missile forces, they certainly caused more pollution,” Köster said.

Piirsalu is a village away from the main highway, with no shop or school. Salmon live in the local river, making the area a nature conservation area. Many residents are concerned about the plant’s impact on the natural environment and quality of life.

“The Piirsalu River is here. The tactical area, as it is now called, is here. In their view, a chemical industry facility will be built here,” Piirsalu village elder Lea Lai said.

Lai questioned what would happen if local boreholes ran dry. She recalled the case of Salajõe village in Lääne County, where a peat producer built a drinking water system after lengthy disputes.

“It is assumed that either the developer or the municipality will dig us a new well. We know that Salajõe village did not get a well for 10 years. They had to prove it, prove it and prove it,” Lai said.

Indrek Sirp, a special adviser on defence industry development at the Ministry of Defence, said a groundwater study had been carried out as part of the environmental assessment.

“It shows that there should in fact be no impact on local wells. The plant would draw its water from deeper groundwater layers than the local wells,” Sirp said.

Rein Kruusmaa, a member of the Risti sub-municipal council, said local people prepared development plans but that development often arrived without their involvement.

“The local government operates on the basis of its development plan. Unfortunately, none of the measures in the development plan are implemented. What is implemented is what developers bring here under pressure, whether it is a wind farm, large solar parks or a defence industry park,” Kruusmaa said.

Sirp said Europe needs explosives for ammunition production. The plant would also create conditions for producing ammunition in Estonia.