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Apply for information on the contaminated site or soil protection register

Service Description

Suspected contaminated sites are, on the one hand, plots of land belonging to decommissioned businesses/plants and other plots of land on which environmentally hazardous substances have been handled (contaminated sites) and, on the other hand, plots of land belonging to decommissioned waste disposal plants and other plots of land on which waste has been treated, stored or deposited (contaminated landfills) and which are therefore suspected of containing hazardous soil contamination. Such sites are designated as contaminated sites if investigations have shown that hazardous soil contamination is present.

Suspected contaminated sites and contaminated sites are recorded in a cadastre in Thuringia. This cadastre is called "THALIS" (Thuringian Contaminated Sites Information System).

For various reasons, property owners or persons with a legitimate interest require information as to whether a property is suspected of being contaminated. To do this, you can submit an application to the responsible authority for information from the register of contaminated sites. For example, you can ask whether a particular property is registered there. However, written information is subject to a charge.

Process flow

If you want to know whether official information on contaminated sites or harmful soil changes is available for a property, submit an application for information from the register of contaminated sites.

The relevant application form with the necessary information is forwarded to the competent authority in whose jurisdiction the property in question is located.

You will then receive notification from the authority as to whether the property in question is registered in the register of contaminated sites and what information is recorded there. As the register of contaminated sites is continuously updated, this information on contaminated sites represents the current status and is subject to change at a later date.

Who should I contact?

Please contact the Lower Soil Protection Authority of the district (or independent city) in which the property in question is located.

The lower soil protection authorities in Thuringia are responsible for dealing with contaminated sites. They may also have expert opinions and investigation reports for the property. In addition, these authorities can often also provide information on how urgent the suspicion of contamination is, whether all parts of the property are equally affected by the suspicion and how high any investigation and remediation costs will be. It is also possible that the land register will be updated or corrected in the course of your inquiry.

Requirements

If you are not the owner of the property for which you are applying for information from the register of contaminated sites, you must enclose a power of attorney from the property owner with the application.

Which documents are required?

An application is necessary, which requires the following information:

  • Your name and address,
  • the exact designation with address and/or district, parcel and parcel number of the parcel in question,
  • attach a site plan if necessary,
  • attach a power of attorney from the owner of the land if you do not own the land.

If the person submitting the application is not the owner of the property: Power of attorney from the property owner

What are the fees?

If information is provided in writing, the authority is legally obliged to charge processing fees. These are calculated according to the time required. However, the fees must be at least €5.00 and may not exceed €500.00.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

There are no deadlines to be observed when submitting the application. information can be requested at any time.

However, if you do not agree with the THALIS information issued or the costs charged for it, you must lodge an objection within one month of receiving the decision.

Processing duration

The information is usually provided within one month.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

If you do not agree with the THALIS information issued or the costs charged for it, you can lodge an objection with the authority that issued the information notice. Certain deadlines must be observed (see above under "What deadlines must I observe?").

Appeal

  • Online procedure possible: in planning
  • Written form required: yes
  • Personal appearance required: no

The application can be made informally. Special forms are not required. However, the application must contain at least the following information

  • Name and address of the applicant
  • District, parcel and parcel(s) for which the information is requested
  • Declaration by the applicant that he/she will bear the processing costs incurred

It is also helpful to provide a telephone number and/or e-mail address so that the authority can contact you more quickly if there are any queries.

What else should I know?

  • Anyone has the right to obtain information from THALIS. However, the authority is legally obliged to charge fees for written information. To avoid discrepancies, it is therefore advisable to ask the authority what the costs will be before submitting an application.
  • The information provided to you is based on information from the current register of contaminated sites. The register of contaminated sites is updated on an ongoing basis and is subject to change and updating. No guarantee is given for the up-to-dateness and completeness of the register of contaminated sites and the information provided.
  • Many of the issues commonly referred to as "contaminated sites", such as ruined buildings, contaminated building fabric, asbestos cladding and roofs, waste left on properties (e.g. barrels or containers with hazardous substances), found munitions, unexploded bombs, car wrecks and even larger deposits of non-hazardous waste (such as uncontaminated building rubble or excavated earth, car tires, etc.) are not contaminated sites within the meaning of the law.
  • Pollutants may also be present in the soil on sites that are not or no longer included in THALIS. Plants in operation do not fall under the legal definition of contaminated sites, even if hazardous soil contamination is present there. In addition, all those properties are deleted from THALIS where the soil contamination is so minor that the current use of the property is possible without risk. However, as soon as the property in question is to be used in a more sensitive manner (e.g. as a children's play area, for residential use, as a garden, etc.), the suspicion of contamination may be revived. In addition, excavation work on such sites may result in increased disposal costs.

Summary:

Even if a property is not or no longer registered in THALIS, the property value may be significantly reduced for various other reasons. Furthermore, even in this case, considerable costs may be incurred for the disposal of waste, the demolition of buildings and the remediation of soil contamination.

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Thuringian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Nature Conservation

Professionally released on

04.10.2021

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)

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