Soil protection
However, our soils are subject to a wide range of uses such as agriculture, transport and industry, which can lead to the entry of pollutants, erosion, compaction and sealing.
The Federal Soil Protection Act was introduced in 1999 to protect soils and their soil functions. Key aspects here are the remediation of soil and groundwater contamination caused by contaminated sites, the prevention of harmful soil changes and the prevention of adverse effects on the soil.
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Tasks soil protection authority
In the Environmental Office of the City of Wolfsburg, the Lower Soil Protection Authority (UBB) ensures the implementation of and compliance with soil protection legislation. Its tasks include:
- Recording and evaluation of old deposits and old sites
- Maintaining the register of contaminated sites
- Providing information from the register of contaminated sites
- Informing and advising property owners, planners and other authorities on dealing with contaminated sites and harmful soil changes
- Carrying out and ordering investigations to assess the risk of contaminated sites
- Implementation and ordering of remediation measures for contaminated sites
- Monitoring the placement of materials (e.g. soil material, dredged material) on or in the soil
- Preventive soil protection
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What are contaminated sites?
Waste deposits
According to the Federal Soil Protection Act, contaminated sites are old deposits and old sites that cause contamination of soil and groundwater. This can be caused by the improper treatment, storage or dumping of waste and the improper handling of environmentally hazardous substances.
These are decommissioned waste disposal facilities (former landfills). Contaminated sites are, for example, plots of land of disused commercial and industrial operations (e.g. former gas stations or dry cleaners) where environmentally hazardous substances such as gasoline or cleaning agents have been handled.
Contaminated sites can have a significant impact on the value and current and future usability of land. These range from increased disposal costs for contaminated excavated earth to extensive, cost-intensive remediation measures for immediate hazard prevention.
Locations in Lower Saxony
The locations of the old landfills in Lower Saxony can be viewed via the following link.
Current, reliable data on facilities and suspected contaminated sites in the city area are recorded by the Lower Soil Protection Authority in the Environmental Agency of the City of Wolfsburg (see Contaminated Sites Register).
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Register of contaminated sites and information on contaminated sites
The Lower Soil Protection Authority of the City of Wolfsburg maintains a register of contaminated sites in which all known contaminated sites and suspected contaminated sites in the city are recorded. In this register, all soil-relevant data that is available at the UBB for the respective property is compiled and evaluated.
Information on contaminated sites
Information from the register of contaminated sites is personal data and therefore worthy of protection. Information from the register of contaminated sites can therefore only be provided to the landowner or with their consent. The information on contaminated sites must be submitted in writing by e-mail, fax or post with the following details:
- Details of the requested property (address, district, corridor and parcel)
- Name and current address of the applicant
- A declaration of consent or power of attorney from the owner, if the applicant is not the owner of the property.
Costs
An administrative fee is charged for the information provided, which is based on the time required. Experience has shown that fees of 36.50 euros to a maximum of 500.00 euros are charged, depending on the size of the requested property and the scope of the file.
Digital application via online town hall
You can also submit an application for information on contaminated sites via the online town hall.
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Dealing with soil pollution/soil contamination
If soil abnormalities such as color, odor, non-soil components or large quantities of waste are found during earthworks, this suspected soil contamination must be reported immediately to the Lower Soil Protection Authority of the City of Wolfsburg.
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Soil function map
Like water or air, soils are an important and valuable part of the environment and fulfill elementary functions. These are functions such as the basis of life for humans, animals and plants. But there are also less obvious functions such as the cooling function of soils in increasingly heated cities or the archiving function of soils. Due to the long formation processes of soils, they preserve, for example, events in natural history as well as cultural-historical processes such as different farming methods. The functions of soil are protected by law.
How well soils fulfill the various functions depends on the condition of the soils (sealing, anthropogenic changes, etc.) and the natural properties of the soils (nutrient content, grain size, etc.).
In order to be able to specifically protect valuable soils with a high functional fulfillment, it is necessary to identify them. For this purpose, a map was drawn up for the soils in the city of Wolfsburg showing the degree of functional fulfillment.
The map will soon be available on the geoportal of the city of Wolfsburg. The link will also be provided here on this page. -
Contact details
City of Wolfsburg Gisela Lampe Environmental Agency Head of Department Lower Soil Protection Authority Phone: 05361 28-1960 Porschestrasse 49 38440 Wolfsburg Randolf Fiebich Phone: 05361 28-1234 Deputy Head of Department Fax: 05361 28-1877 Phone: 05361 28-1686 E-mail: bodenschutz@stadt.wolfsburg.de Mrs. Bonse Town Hall B Room B 434 Telephone: 05361 28-2075 Mr. Kern Town Hall B Room B 434 Telephone: 05361 28-1818