The role of the Estonian Rescue Board in land-use planning decisions
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Sub-title: Dangerous enterprises and enterprises representing a major hazard
Country: Estonia
Date: 2015
Category: Legislation
Tags: Land-Use Planning, Siting of Chemical/Industrial Facilities, Competent Safety Authority, Communicating the Risks, Industrial Safety, Building Design Documentation, Decisions on the Siting of Hazardous Industrial Activities
Organization(s) involved: Estonian Rescue Board
The Estonian Rescue Board (safety supervision department and regional rescue centers) is responsible for prevention and emergency preparedness for industrial accidents. The Rescue Board is actively involved in siting and land-use procedures and related EIA and SEA processes, including screening and scoping, and has a number of binding powers in this respect.
The comprehensive, special or detailed spatial plans and building design documentation must be submitted to the Rescue Board for approval when:
a. Selecting the location of a new establishment;
b. Expanding the operations of an existing establishment or increasing production, provided that a plan needs to be initiated or amended or a building permit needs to be granted;
c. Planning an area located in the danger zone of a hazardous enterprise, an enterprise with a major hazard, or planning construction works there.
The Rescue Board assesses whether:
a. The plan or construction works increase the major-accident hazard or the severity of its consequences;
b. The planned accident prevention measures are sufficient;
c. The operator of the establishment must submit additional information to the local authority and to the Rescue Board before the plan is adopted or the building permit is granted.
The Recue Board may reject a proposal if a planned activity in the plan or in the building design documentation increases the risk of a major accident occurrence, or the severity of its consequences, and the planned accident prevention measures are insufficient.
The details of this good practice can be found at:
- UNECE Guidance on Land-Use Planning, the Siting of Hazardous Activities, and Related Safety Aspects (2017), Chapter III, Box 6
The presentation by the Estonian Rescue Board at the UNECE Joint workshop on land-use planning, the siting of hazardous activities and related safety aspects (13 April 2016, Geneva, Switzerland): http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/eia/documents/WG2.5_April2016/Presentations/9._dkaeger_Estonia.pdf
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