Court overrules Estonian government on Nursipalu military training area expansion
A court has annulled the government's decision to expand a military training zone in South Estonia, citing insufficient attention to noise pollution.
The Nursipalu training area is an existing military facility in Võru County that was marked for expansion in October 2023. The expansion was aligned with the changed security situation and would allow the site to host state-of-the-art weaponry, including that used by NATO allies.
The court found the government did not give enough consideration to noise pollution from the expanded site, including artillery fire. Evidence showed "a large number of people" would be affected.
In the court's view, authorities must also consider noise levels below legal limits if they pose long-term health risks. The court found this issue had not been addressed.
The ruling requires the government to follow national special planning procedures and to seriously consider alternatives to the Nursipalu expansion.
If no viable alternatives are found, the court said, the noise issue must be dealt with more thoroughly.
The judgment has not taken effect and can be appealed in the second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court within a 30-day period.
The ruling relates to government decisions made October 20, 2023 and December 19, 2024.
Defense minister: We have always said state must be able to build up national defense
Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) told ERR that after reviewing the court ruling, the government would act quickly.
"We will not drag this out. We will read through the decision and then make our conclusions and the necessary decisions," Pevkur commented.
"However we have always proceeded on the principle that the state must keep the ability to build up national defense. And in conditions of war, as Russia has fully launched against Ukraine, these decisions must be quick. For this reason the legislator amended the law specifically to that end a few years ago, saying that expedited procedures of this kind can be carried out. The government also proceeded from this. I still maintain the position that no defense development should be delayed, and it was entirely correct that such rapid decisions were made, both by the Riigikogu and the government," Pevkur went on.
In October 2023, the then Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 government decided to expand the Nursipalu training zone, tripling its size from 3,000 hectares to about 9,000.
The plan drew local opposition due to concerns over noise, property displacement, and environmental impact.
The government promised compensation to owners of just over 20 properties in the zone that would have to be razed.
A Natura 2000 assessment found the expansion would not harm the conservation goals or integrity of Natura 2000 network areas.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
