Immission control - Display commissioning, modification, decommissioning or change of operator for evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators in accordance with 42. BImSchV
Under certain conditions, evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators can emit water droplets (aerosols) containing legionella, which can cause severe pneumonia in humans if inhaled. The 42nd BImSchV sets requirements for the construction, design and operation of these systems. The aim is to prevent hazards and to minimise the effects of improper operating conditions that nevertheless occur, thereby minimising the health risk to the population.
Forms/Online Services
- KaVKA-42.BV Web-Anwendung KaVKA-42.BV dient der Anzeige von Verdunstungskühlanlagen, Kühltürmen und Nassabscheidern gemäß § 13 der 42. Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Verordnung über Verdunstungskühlanlagen, Nassabscheider und Kühltürme - 42. BImSchV)
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 responsible immission control authorities are the local lower immission control authorities, i.e
- the district office if the premises with the plant are located in a district,
- the municipal administration if the premises with the plant are located in an urban 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 number 2 or number 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,
- 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 your notification to the immission control authority responsible for your facility.
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
As the operator of an evaporative cooling system, a cooling tower or a wet separator , you are obliged to notify the competent authority no later than one month after the initial filling with process water. Existing systems had to be notified by 20 August 2018. In addition , changes to the system as well as a system shutdown or a change of operator must be reportedto the competent authority immediately, at the latest within one month.
Procedure
The notifications must be submitted to the competent authority nationwide via the web application "Cadastre for the registration of evaporative cooling systems 42. BImSchV" . To notify a system, registration in the KaVKA-42.BV system is first required. After successful registration, the master data of the workplace (the location of the system) and the system can be recorded and the notification can be sent to the competent authority.
The use of the KaVKA-42.BV web application is mandatory in Baden-Württemberg for all notification obligations under Section 13 and for all information obligations under Section 10 of the 42nd BImSchV (see General Decree of the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector on the use of electronic means for the fulfilment of notification and information obligations under the 42nd BImSchV). In addition, the web application can be used for notifications in accordance with § 14.
Deadlines
The operator of a new system must notify the competent authority no later than one month after the first filling with process water.
Existing systems must be reported to the competent authority no later than one month after 19 July 2018.
Changes to the system, system decommissioning and changes of operator must be reported immediately, but within one month at the latest.
Required documents
Information in accordance with Annex 4 Part 2 of the 42nd BImSchV.
Via the Web application KaVKA-42.BV is used to query all the required information.
Costs
The costs are based on the fees set by the responsible immission control authorities.
Miscellaneous
If you have any technical questions about the KaVKA-42.BV web application (e.g. questions about using the software, registration problems), please contact the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Agency (LUBW):
- kavka@lubw.bwl.de
For technical questions (e.g. questions on the classification of an installation and the scope of application of the 42nd BImSchV, questions on installations already registered in KaVKA-42.BV, questions on individual operator obligations), please contact your responsible immission control authority.
Legal basis
Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG)
Zweiundvierzigste Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes (Verordnung über Verdunstungskühlanlagen, Kühltürme und Nassabscheider - 42. BImSchV):
- § 13 Anzeigepflichten
Immissionsschutz-Zuständigkeitsverordnung des Landes Baden-Württemberg
Allgemeinverfügung des Ministeriums für Umwelt, Klima und Energiewirtschaft zur Nutzung des elektronischen Weges bei der Erfüllung von Anzeige- und Informationspflichten nach der Verordnung über Verdunstungskühlanlagen, Kühltürme und Nassabscheider - 42. BImSchV
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 16.01.2026