State pays municipalities EUR 1.35 mln in disturbance fees for 2023

The Estonian Ministry of Defense paid 1.35 million euros in disturbance fees to 16 local governments in connection with military training grounds this year. Photo: Marianne Loorents

The Estonian Ministry of Defense paid 1.35 million euros in disturbance fees to 16 local governments in connection with military training grounds this year.

Disturbance fees were paid to the rural municipalities of Alutaguse, Anija, Antsla, Kadrina, Kiili, Kuusalu, West-Harju, Rouge, Saarde, Saku, Tapa, Toila and Voru as well as to the towns of Narva-Joesuu, Parnu and Voru.

Additionally, four municipalities affected by the Nursipalu training area will be paid an additional one-off grant on Friday.

According to Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, this year's disturbance fee is the highest ever and with it the country wants to mitigate the impact of training grounds on the living environment. He added that it is understandable that it is not possible to cover all the effects of training grounds with money, but it is an important help for municipalities to make the investments necessary for communities.

The factors of how many people live in the area of influence of the training grounds and how far the effects extend are taken into account more than before. The purpose of the grant is to help local governments make investments and improve the local living environment.

"Local governments know what money is most needed for -- whether it's a light traffic road, updating the heating system of a school building or something else," Pevkur said.

Since 2019, support has been paid to nine local governments in accordance with a memorandum of understanding. The new compensation measures for local governments were approved by the government on Thursday last week. The disturbance fee increased to 1.35 million euros, and in addition, the circle of local governments receiving it also expanded from nine to 16.