Determination of the suitability of systems for handling water-polluting substances

Facilities for dealing with water-polluting substances must be designed and constructed, maintained, operated and decommissioned in such a way that a negative change in the properties of water is not to be expected

You must include evidence of the suitability of the facility with your application for a suitability assessment. At the request of the responsible authority, you must have an expert report prepared and presented on the suitability of the system. The documents required in each case depend on the individual case and are determined by the responsible authority.

The determination of suitability is only necessary for storage, filling or handling (LAU) facilities, but not for production, treatment and use (HBV) facilities and pipelines. Further exceptions are regulated by Section 63, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Water Resources Act (WHG) and Section 41 of the AwSV.

• It is recommended that you make preliminary arrangements with the responsible authority before submitting your application.
• You submit a written, informal application for a determination to the responsible authority
• With the application you submit evidence that proves the suitability of the system.
• The responsible authority will check your application for completeness.
• If necessary, the responsible authority will contact you again and request further documents.
• The result of the aptitude assessment procedure will be communicated to you in a written notification.

You may only build, operate and significantly modify a facility for storing, filling or handling substances that are hazardous to water if the suitability of the facility has been determined in advance by the responsible authority.

The suitability assessment serves as a preventive control of the technical design of the system. The suitability assessment is an instrument of official prior control, a “proof of usability” and not a system approval. The test standard is compliance with the principle of concern or the best possible protection as well as the technical rules.

In order to initiate the process to determine suitability, you must submit a written application to the responsible authority.