The Keskkonnaamet publishes this announcement under § 12 (1¹)2) of Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management System Act.

Environmental Agency as a decision-maker announces that 05.10.2022 Decision No DM-117693-7 on the request for the grant of cleaning conditions for the Nurme peat production area environmental impact assessment (EIA) has not started.

The objective of the proposed action is the restoration of excavated land in the Nurme peat production area of the Lavasar peat site. The mountainous allocation of the Nurme peat production area and its catchment area are located in Pärnu County, Sauga Municipality, Nurme village, state-owned Nurme raba property (cadastral identification 73001:001:0200; Ministry of Environment of the holder of the land, Maa-amet as authorised authority, designated land for peat use).

Because of the conservation of water resources, the need to preserve and restore natural diversity and the technological possibilities for restoration, it is proposed that the peat production area be restored to a recreational area. The proposed action aims at restoring the depleted 132 ha southern part of the Nurme peat production area at Lavasar. The area covered by the mountain allocation for the Nurme peat production area is 499.01 ha and the area covered by the mountain allocation is 499.01 ha.

The area has a thin residual peat layer, partly sparsely planted, sometimes clay mineral islands on peatland and fairly high pH and conductivity of drainage water in square and collector frames, as well as ruderal plant species on mineral land, in addition to peat plant species. For that reason, it is not appropriate, for a given production area, to focus the area on the Rackelhahn and to apply a cultivation of turf land which is unfavourable to the environment. It should be limited to raising water levels and creating the conditions for the distribution of low and Siirdesoo plants on the site. There is still an excavated stock of peat in the northern fields of the peat production area (around 367 ha), where mining is still ongoing for about the lifetime of the permit. Therefore, during the design of the restoration technology project, measures must be laid down to ensure that the water level does not increase in the part of the production area with an undepleted layer of peat during the restoration process.

The Nurme peat production area has exhausted the 132 ha southern part, which is intended to be remedied as a matter of priority in order to avoid further mineralisation of residual peat and to reduce the negative climate effects (CO2 emissions).

The aim of this activity is to create conditions for an increase in water levels and the emergence of vegetation and low-water areas, which would reduce the risk of fire and greenhouse gas emissions and increase the cover of vegetation by regenerating carbon sequestration and peat leaks.

EIA was not started on the basis of paragraphs 3(1), 1, 6(2), 2, 6 prim1(1), 3 and 5, 9(1), 11 (2), 2 prim2, 2 prim3, 4, 8 and 8 prim1 of the KeHJS, Decree No 224 of the Government of the Republic of 29.08.2005 'on the areas of activity for which a preliminary assessment of the need for an environmental impact assessment must be carried out,
specified list 'paragraph 1(1) and paragraph 3(p) (12).

The developer is osaühing ASB Greenworld Eesti (registry code: 10468649) contact details: asbgreen@hot.ee, address in Pakketsehhi, Nurme village, Tur Municipality 85004 Pärnu County
The decision-maker is Environmental Agency (contact person Agnes Putnik, e-mail agnes.putnik@keskkonnaamet.ee, phone 5191 3442).

The decision not to start an EIA is available at working days on the floor of the Office of the Environment Agency in Viljandi II at Paala Tea 4, Viljandi, Viljandi County. The documents can be digitally accessed from the environmental decision information system to https://kotkas.envir.ee/.