Draft law amending the Construction Code Act, the Act on Administrative Cooperation, and the Water Act (531 SE) - First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
Date: 2024-12-12 00:04
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 25
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 44m
AI Summaries: 25/25 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The discussion within the latest, agenda item 15, concerned the first reading of the draft law (531) amending the Construction Code Act, the Act on Administrative Cooperation, and the Water Act. The draft law aims to reduce bureaucracy and overregulation in the water sector and ensure smoother state functioning. The primary justification was that several coordination processes between local governments and the Environmental Board create duplication and slow down procedures. The draft law highlights five key changes: (1) coordination of construction permits for boreholes and boreholes, (2) coordination of wastewater collection areas, (3) delegation of the certification of water sample takers to a private legal entity, (4) clarification of the requirements for permits for groundwater diversion, and (5) clarification and acceleration of various technical provisions and applications. The Environmental Board and local governments were involved in the process, and the planned changes are intended to reduce the burdensome workload on the state and officials, while ensuring that local governments and the Environmental Board coordinate cases with significant impact on the public interest.
Decisions Made 3
The draft was taken into consideration and the first reading was scheduled; the agenda was set for December 11, 2024.
First reading completed; Jüri Jaanson was appointed as the leading representative of the committee (a collegiate decision, further proceedings will continue at meetings).
The deadline for submitting amendment proposals was set: December 30th at 5:15 PM.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Andres Metsoja (Isamaa faction). He spoke on several occasions, and his questions and observations concerned the bill’s impact on quarries, nature conservation areas, and the alignment of state roles. By political position, he belongs to the right-wing political league, Isamaa, together with other right-wing factions.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Today's final item on the agenda, the 15th item, concerns the government-initiated draft bill No. 531 in its first reading, which amends the Construction Act, the Administrative Cooperation Act, and the Water Act, and the rapporteur is Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Sveti.
Taristuminister Vladimir Svet
AI Summary
The aim of the proposed draft bill is to reduce bureaucracy in the water sector and to ensure the smooth functioning of the state, and it will bring five main changes: 1) a change in the coordination/approval arrangement for new boreholes and intake licenses, where about 70% of licenses will be approved by the local government and about 30% by the Estonian Environment Agency; 2) the approval of wastewater collection areas will no longer take place at the level of the Minister of Infrastructure, but will be approved by the Director General of the Estonian Environment Agency; 3) the Ministry of Climate will be given the right to delegate the organization of attestation of water sample takers to a private legal entity, and the sample takers will pay a fee; 4) the requirement for a groundwater re-routing water permit will be clarified and a threshold will be added; 5) various technical provisions will be made and the coordination/approval of implementation activities will be consolidated at the level of the Director General of the Estonian Environment Agency.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
He notes that the listeners have questions, and asks Tiit Maran to present those questions.
Tiit Maran
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
In the presentation, the emphasis was on reducing bureaucracy, and it was asked when the role of coordinating borehole approvals would remain with the Environmental Board and when with the municipalities.
Taristuminister Vladimir Svet
AI Summary
Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet said that the new law does not cancel the role of the Environmental Board, but places a focus on situations where the drilling of boreholes or wells could cause greater impact or risk and requires coordination by both local governments and the Environmental Board in five cases: firstly, when drinking water is taken or it must be connected to the public water supply network; secondly, when an open-loop geothermal heating system borehole is built or rebuilt; thirdly, when a geothermal heating system borehole or borehole is deeper than 100 metres or the planned capacity exceeds 25 kilowatts; fourthly, when the drilling or relocation of a borehole takes place in Cambrian–Vendian or Ordovician–Cambrian water complexes or in an established groundwater reserve area; and fifthly, when a borehole is constructed, rebuilt, or demolished on protected areas under the Nature Protection Act.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks Andres Metsoja.
Andres Metsoja
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Andres Metsoja stressed that the state must clearly be responsible for the management of ore deposits and boreholes, and the same control could apply to nature reserves, and he asked whether the minister has had a chance to address this topic.
Taristuminister Vladimir Svet
AI Summary
The submission confirms that the party planning the quarry is obliged to cover the additional costs necessary for the establishment of potentially deep boreholes, and this approach protects the interests of private individuals and groundwater resources, because the creation of a quarry is uncertain and opening the deepest groundwater layers increases environmental risks.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The chairperson asks Priit Sibul to take the floor.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul noted that although this is not a matter of a draft bill, the discussion concerns the merger of local water utilities, and if the requirements remain the same and European funds are no longer invested, the only certain outcome will be a price increase, and for those who have not yet had their water supply installed, it will now be done at the expense of those people who have already done it in other municipalities.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The speech urges listeners to act, saying that their time is at hand.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
They want to know what it means, if that's possible.
Taristuminister Vladimir Svet
AI Summary
Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet said that in Estonia the water supply infrastructure is aging and there is a need for investments, and the aim of the water reform is to ensure the investment capacity of water operators and to keep water accessible and affordable, focusing on quality, reliability of supply and price, and by involving cooperation with local governments and businesses.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The performer invites Andres Metsoja onto the stage.
Andres Metsoja
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Andres Metsoja emphasized that the state coordinates mineral-deposit issues under separate laws, and asked why mineral-deposit areas are not included in planning in the context of passive and active reserves, and why issuing permits in a nature protection area is the competence of the local government, when the state's function could be preserved proportionally in the case of mineral deposits.
Taristuminister Vladimir Svet
AI Summary
He said that the current handling of ore deposits is proportionate, and the burden lies with the quarry operator, which ensures a balance between the private owner's interests and the needs of nature conservation, and does not significantly change the borehole permitting process.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman thanked and asked that the discussion held in the steering committee be presented on behalf of Jüri Jaanson, a member of the Environmental Committee.
Jüri Jaanson
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Jüri Jaanson presented to the Riigikogu the process for amending the Construction Act, the Administrative Cooperation Act, and the Water Act in the Riigikogu up to the first reading, and described the thorough discussion held in the committee, including the draft's impact on borehole regulation, the criteria for assessing groundwater resources, the reduction of bureaucracy, and the expansion of the local government's role.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller thanked for the thorough presentation of the committee's protocol; there were no questions; he opened negotiations between the factions; and on behalf of the Isamaa faction, Andres Metsoja took the floor.
Andres Metsoja
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Andres Metsoja emphasizes that if ore deposits may affect groundwater resources, the state, together with local authorities, must ensure clean drinking water through the coordination of planning approvals, prevent wells from drying up, and guarantee predictable and fairly distributed costs for taxpayers.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
He asks for two more minutes.
Andres Metsoja
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Andres Metsoja calls for better cooperation between local governments and the Estonian Environment Agency in nature protection areas, and for impact assessment and permit coordination through a resource inventory, because the state may, in response to a local decision, issue a mining license, which requires legislative clarity.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller thanks and invites Jüri Jaanson to deliver the rebuttal speech, asking whether he will speak from the podium or from the floor, and confirms that it is on behalf of the faction.
Jüri Jaanson
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Jüri Jaanson said that although he basically agrees with Andres Metsoja, in the further processing of the draft there will be much discussion about both ore deposits and boreholes, and he referred to a study carried out by four companies for a law firm which may indicate a violation of the Constitution, and he emphasized that although borehole drilling ties them to drinking water, one cannot always expect high-quality drinking water from it, because it depends on the quality of groundwater and may differ by region; the discussion will continue, and constructive discussion about the entire draft is welcome.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The session has ended, the first reading of draft bill 531 has been completed, the deadline for submitting amendment proposals is December 30 this year at 17:15, and we will meet tomorrow.