“We must have a better overview regarding to what degree and where we actually need construction mineral resources. In doing so we avoid the unnecessary uprooting of Estonia and provide mining permits only in a case of clear need and in places where it has as minor an impact on the environment as possible,” said Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus-Rosimannus. The National Development Plan for Mineral Resources Used in the Construction Industry Until 2020 designates the main directions for the extraction and use of limestone, dolomite, crystalline construction stone, sand, gravel and clay in Estonia. In the action plan, specific activities and measures until 2015 were agreed upon. Great emphasis is being placed on the preparation of a model in order to calculate the actual need for mineral resources used in construction. A position of importance is also held by the reviewing of quarries that have been ruined by mining and are abandoned. "We are conducting a thorough overview of the tidying up of mining areas – unfortunately areas ruined by extraction have not been cleaned up afterwards. When we have the necessary information, we will be able to being taking specific steps to end this situation,” said the Minster of the Environment. The total cost of the operational programme until 2015 is EUR 648 800. A big part of this is comprised of the preparation and regular updating of a model for determining the need for mineral resources used in the construction industry. The surveys and analyses prescribed in the development plan shall be financed largely by funds from the Environmental Investment Centre. The operational programme shall be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, whose area of government covers the planning of housing, construction and transport policy, as well as technological development and innovation (including questions regarding extraction) and the organisation of development in the field. |
