Immission control - Applying for a permit for a significant change to a plant requiring authorisation in accordance with the BImSchG
A permit is also required for the modification of an installation authorised under immission control legislation if the modification may cause adverse environmental impacts and these may be significant for the assessment of the licensing requirements for the installation requiring a permit. Authorisation is also always required if the modification or expansion of the operation of the installation requiring authorisation means that the capacity limit or size of the installation relevant to the authorisation requirement is reached for the first time. In addition, a permit is always required if the change in itself already reaches the relevant capacity limit for a permit requirement in accordance with the Ordinance on Installations Subject to Licensing (4th BImSchV).
The planned significant change to the installation requiring a licence must be applied for with the licensing authority responsible for the modified installation. As part of the approval procedure, the approval authority will check whether the modified installation still fulfils the legal requirements.
Approval is not required if the adverse effects caused by the modification are obviously minor and fulfilment of the requirements of the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) for installations requiring approval is ensured. This also applies if an authorised installation or parts of an authorised installation are replaced as part of the existing authorisation.
If, in the operator's judgement, the planned change is not significant, it must nevertheless be reported to the competent authority.
Forms/Online Services
Responsible authority
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 authorisation under immission control legislation is the local lower immission control authority, i.e
- 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 (among others, 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 marked with the letter E in column d of Annex 1 of the Ordinance on Installations Requiring a Licence,
- at least one operating area in accordance with Section 3 (5a) of the Federal Immission Control Act (hazardous incident operation),
- at least one installation that requires a licence pursuant to Section 60 (3) sentence 1 no. 2 or no. 3 of the Federal Water Act, 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 constructed.
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 on them, which are subject to mining supervision,
- Operating sites with cable cars and funicular railways used for passenger transport,
- 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
- Industrial premises with installations used for the construction, significant expansion and significant modification of underground cavities.
Please ensure that you submit your licence application to the immission control authority responsible for your facility.
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
The permit must be granted if it is ensured that the obligations arising from the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and its ordinances will continue to be fulfilled after the substantial modification of the plant requiring a permit and that other public law regulations and occupational health and safety concerns do not conflict with the construction and operation of the plant. Authorisation can only be granted if the application documents submitted by you allow a complete and final assessment of the project's eligibility for authorisation.
Procedure
The authorisation procedure requires a written or electronic application. To apply for an immission control permit electronically, you can use the online application "Applying for a permit under the Federal Immission Control Act", which adapts to the information you provide, guides you through the application process and provides specific technical information.
The application must be accompanied by the drawings, explanations and other documents required to check the authorisation requirements. If further documents are required by the responsible immission control authority or the relevant specialised authorities for an assessment, these must be submitted subsequently.
Once the application is complete, the licensing authority requests the authorities to be involved in the procedure to submit their comments on the licensing requirements. In the case of a formal authorisation procedure, there is also public participation, in which the project is made public and the application documents are displayed for one month and objections can be raised by the public. If there are objections, these will be discussed with you and those who have raised the objections in a public meeting or an online consultation. Pursuant to Section 16 BImSchG, the licensing authority should refrain from publicising the project and displaying the application and documents if you as the project sponsor request this and there are no concerns of significant adverse effects on relevant protected interests.
Once the licensing authority has determined all the circumstances that are relevant to the granting of a licence, a decision must be made on the application. The authorisation decision must be substantiated in writing and will be sent to you and the persons who have raised objections. The notification of the authorisation notice to objectors can be replaced by a public announcement.
Pursuant to Section 13 BImSchG, the immission control permit includes other official decisions relating to the plant, in particular permits, approvals, concessions, authorisations and licences under public law. Excluded from this are planning approvals, approval of operating plans under mining law, official decisions based on nuclear regulations and water law permits and authorisations.
As part of the application process, can also apply for the authorisation of an early start in accordance with Section 8a BImSchG or the granting of a preliminary decision in accordance with Section 9 BImSchG as well as the division into several partial permits in accordance with Section 8 BImSchG.
Deadlines
You must obtain prior authorisation from the competent authority for any significant change to an installation requiring authorisation.
Required documents
The application must be accompanied by the documents required for an assessment. These are, for example
- Descriptions of the project, including information on plant components, process steps, material and product data,
- schematic diagrams and flow charts,
- Information on possible disruptions to normal operation,
- Information on emissions and immissions,
- Information on waste and waste water,
- Construction documents: site plan, construction drawings, construction description,
The competent authority may request further documents if necessary. Coordinate in advance with the responsible immission control authority regarding the documents required for an assessment.
If official decisions concerning the installation are communicated as part of the authorisation procedure (e.g. building permit), the documents required for this must also be submitted.
The application must always be made using the forms for the application for authorisation under immission control law. The forms and further information on the immission control authorisation procedure can be found in the Guideline - Authorisation and notification procedure in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment.
Costs
The fees are based on the investment costs for the system.
Processing time
As a rule, the licensing authority must check whether the documents are complete within one month of receiving the application. If the application documents are not sufficient for an assessment, they must be completed by the applicant.
Once the application documents are complete, the statutory deadlines begin for the authorisation procedure under immission control law, which is six months in a formal procedure and three months in a simplified procedure for modification projects. The deadlines can be extended by three months if this is necessary due to the difficulty of the examination or for reasons attributable to the applicant.
Miscellaneous
Coordinate in advance with the responsible immission control authority regarding the documents required for an assessment.
The electronic application for the substantial modification of a plant requiring authorisation is made using the same online application that is used to apply for the construction and operation of a new plant. The procedure variant is selected during the application process.
When submitting an electronic application via the Baden-Württemberg service portal, use the online process "Submit documents for immission control permit" to submit subsequent application documents.
A prior notification of change in accordance with Section 15 BImSchG is required for a non-substantial change to an installation requiring an immission control licence.
Legal basis
Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG):
- § 4 Genehmigung
- § 5 Pflichten der Betreiber genehmigungsbedürftiger Anlagen
- § 10 Genehmigungsverfahren
- § 15 Änderung genehmigungsbedürftiger Anlagen
- § 16 Wesentliche Änderung genehmigungsbedürftiger Anlagen
Vierte Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Verordnung über genehmigungsbedürftige Anlagen - 4. BImSchV)
Neunte Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Verordnung über das Genehmigungsverfahren - 9. BImSchV)
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 11.03.2026