Appoint company representatives for immission control

Operators of certain installations subject to authorisation must appoint one or more immission control officers.

Annex I of the Ordinance on Immission Control and Major Accidents Officers (5th BImSchV) contains a list of the installations to which this obligation applies.

You must inform your immission control authority of the appointment.

The most important tasks of immission control officers include

  • Advising the operator and company employees
  • Immission control matters
  • Encouraging the introduction of environmentally friendly processes and products and assisting in their introduction through assessments
  • Monitoring compliance with legal immission control regulations (e.g. by inspecting facilities and carrying out measurements)
  • Informing company employees about harmful environmental effects emanating from the facilities, as well as the measures taken against them and obligations under immission control law
  • annual reporting to the operator on the measures taken and planned

Prerequisite

Requirements for immission control officers are:

  • Possession of the required technical knowledge through
    • University degree in the field of engineering, chemistry or physics
    • Participation in one or more recognised training courses and
    • at least two years of practical experience in dealing with installations
  • Required reliability

The competent authority may grant exemptions from certain requirements upon application.

Responsible department

the immission control authority

The immission control authority is

  • if your place of business is in a rural district: the district administration office
  • if your place of business is in an urban district: the municipal authority
  • the regional council, if
    • there is at least one installation in accordance with Annex I to Directive 2010/75/EU on your premises, or
    • the business is subject to the Major Accidents Ordinance

Procedure

You must first inform the works council or staff council of the impending appointment. You must record the appointment in writing and describe the duties of the immission control officer in detail.

You must then notify the competent body of the appointment. This also applies to any changes in the scope of duties and the dismissal of the appointed persons.

You must also support your immission control officers in their duties as necessary. Examples:

  • Provide auxiliary staff, rooms, facilities and equipment; and
  • enable participation in training courses.

 

Deadlines

You must immediately notify the competent authority of the appointment of an immission control officer.

Required documents

Exact description of the tasks

Costs

The costs are based on the training and further education events. These are partly sector-specific and conditioned by the free market.

Miscellaneous

If several immission control officers are appointed in a company, you must coordinate the tasks. This also includes the formation of an environmental protection committee.

You must include company officers appointed according to other legal regulations in the coordination.

Appeal

none

Legal basis

Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG)

  • §§ 53 - 58 Betriebsbeauftragter für Immissionsschutz

Fünfte Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Verordnung über Immissionsschutz- und Störfallbeauftragte – 5. BImSchV)

Zwölfte Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Störfall-Verordnung - 12. BImSchV)

Anhang I der Richtlinie 2010/75/EU

Release note

Machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 23.09.2024