Immission control - applying for a preliminary decision on a plant requiring authorisation in accordance with the BImSchG

If you apply for a preliminary decision on an immission control permit for the construction and operation of a plant requiring a permit, the competent authority will first decide on individual authorisation requirements and the location of the plant.

If the effects of the planned installation can be adequately assessed and there is a legitimate interest in issuing a preliminary decision, the competent authority should issue a preliminary decision.

If individual authorisation requirements have been conclusively assessed in the preliminary decision, the approval authority is bound by this in the subsequent approval procedure. However, the preliminary decision does not authorise you to construct or operate the plant. This is only possible once the immission control licence has been issued.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

  • The competent authority must be able to adequately assess the impact of the planned installation from the application you submit and the required documents.
  • In a preliminary forecast, it must be possible to confirm that your overall project can be authorised.
  • Your application must demonstrate a legitimate interest in the granting of a preliminary licence.

Responsible department

The responsibilities in the area of immission control are regulated in the Immission Control Competence Ordinance of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

In most cases, the competent authority for installations requiring immission control authorisation is the local lower immission control authority:

  • the district office, if the premises with the plant are located in a district,
  • the city administration if the premises with the installation are located in a city district.

A different responsibility applies in the following cases (e.g. for companies that are subject to the European Industrial Emissions Directive, the Hazardous Incident Ordinance or mining law):

Departments 5 - Environment of the respective locally responsible regional councils are the competent immission control authorities for company premises on which:

  • at least one installation that is labelled with the letter E in column d of Annex 1 of the Ordinance on Installations Requiring a Permit,
  • at least one operating area in accordance with Section 3 (5a) of the Federal Immission Control Act (hazardous incident operation),
  • at least one installation which, pursuant to Section 60 (3) sentence 1 no. 2 or no. 3 of the Federal Water Act (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz), or
  • at least one landfill in accordance with Article 10 in conjunction with Annex I of Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control), as amended

exists or is to be established.

Department 9 - State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining of the Freiburg Regional Council is also the state-wide competent immission control authority for:

  • Operational sites including the facilities and activities located thereon that are subject to mining supervision,
  • Operating sites with cable cars and funicular railways used for passenger transport,
  • Operating sites with high-pressure gas pipelines which, as energy installations within the meaning of the Energy Industry Act, serve to supply gas and which are designed for a maximum permissible operating pressure of more than 16 bar,
  • Underground waste disposal facilities and
  • Operating sites with facilities used for the construction, significant expansion and significant modification of underground cavities.

Please ensure that you submit the application for a preliminary decision to the immission control authority responsible for your project.

Procedure

The application for a preliminary decision on an installation requiring authorisation is made as part of a procedure for the granting of an immission control permit for the construction and operation of an installation requiring authorisation. As soon as the competent authority has completed its examination of the authorisation requirements affected by the preliminary decision and a positive preliminary overall assessment has been fulfilled, you will receive a corresponding decision from the competent authority.

If individual authorisation requirements have been conclusively assessed in the preliminary decision, the approval authority is bound by this in the subsequent approval procedure (staged procedure). However, the preliminary decision does not authorise the construction or operation of the plant. This is only possible with the final authorisation.

Deadlines

The preliminary decision becomes invalid if you do not apply for authorisation of the installation within two years of the preliminary decision becoming invalid. In justified exceptional cases, the period of validity of the preliminary decision can be extended for up to two further years.

Required documents

  • Application for a preliminary decision on an installation requiring authorisation
  • required drawings, plans, expert opinions
  • Explanations of the installation
  • other documents (if necessary, ask the competent authority)

Costs

The fees are based on the investment costs for the system.

Miscellaneous

Coordinate in advance with the responsible immission control authority regarding the required documents.

The application for a preliminary decision on a plant requiring authorisation is made via the online application for the administrative service "Immission control - applying for the construction and operation of an installation requiring authorisation".

Appeal

  • Opposition
  • Action

Legal basis

Gesetz zum Schutz vor schädlichen Umwelteinwirkungen durch Luftverunreinigungen, Geräusche, Erschütterungen und ähnliche Vorgänge -Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetzt (BImSchG)

  • § 9 Vorbescheid 

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 03.07.2024