Newly constructed and existing combustion plants with a rated thermal input of 1 MW to 50 MW must be notified to the competent authority in writing or electronically in accordance with Section 6 of the 44th BImSchV. To ensure that your notification contains all the necessary information, you can use the table found under the following link: Registration of existing installations pursuant to Section 6 (2) of the 44th BImSchV | Nds. Gewerbeaufsicht.

In accordance with Paragraph 36 of the 44th BImSchV, the competent authority must keep a register (register of installations) of every installation to be registered in accordance with Paragraph 6 and make this register of installations public, including via the Internet.

To date, no installations falling under the jurisdiction of the city of Wolfsburg have been registered in accordance with the 44th BImSchV.

Registered installations in the city of Wolfsburg that fall under the jurisdiction of the Braunschweig State Trade Supervisory Office can be found under the following link: Plant register of the 44th BImSchV | Nds. Gewerbeaufsicht.

Registered installations in the city of Wolfsburg that fall under the jurisdiction of the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology can be found under the following link: Plant register according to 44th BImSchV (WMS Service).

When operating evaporative cooling systems, wet separators and cooling towers, the temperatures of the cooling water and the formation of droplets can cause legionella bacteria to multiply and spread. In order to rule out a health risk to humans, the operator has a number of obligations under the 42nd BImSchV. The aim is to ensure hygienic operation of the system.

The obligations include, among other things

• Notification of the system to the competent authority via the register for recording evaporative cooling systems 42nd BImSchV (KaVKA-42.BV)
• Regular sampling and testing of the process water for various chemical, physical and microbiological parameters
• Notification of any exceedance of action values
• An inspection of the system by an expert every 5 years

The city of Wolfsburg must update the noise action plan for road noise every five years in accordance with the "Directive on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise 2002/49/EC" (EU Environmental Noise Directive, ULR).

It is based on the latest noise mapping data from the state of Lower Saxony from 2023. Public participation by citizens took place from 13.11.2023 - 13.12.2023 and 15.03.2024 - 15.04.2024 and the noise action plan was adopted by Wolfsburg City Council on 05.06.2024. The results of the action plan are published on the City of Wolfsburg's website.

The noise maps or action plans do not create a legal entitlement to noise protection measures.

The noise action plan and the noise mapping can be viewed at the following link.

• Noise action plan of the city of Wolfsburg

The state of Lower Saxony is responsible for noise mapping. These noise maps serve the affected municipalities as a basis for noise action planning.

The 34th BImSchV (Noise Mapping Ordinance) defines the procedure for creating noise maps and forwarding them to the EU. At the same time, the ordinance requires noise maps to be disseminated in a comprehensible and easily accessible format to inform the public. For this reason, the state of Lower Saxony makes noise maps available to the public and local authorities via the Internet. It is thus possible to create maps (section, information level, etc.) and then download or print them as a document. Online help is available to assist you in using the map server. The noise maps for Stage 4 of the EU Environmental Noise Directive were updated in June 2023.

• Noise maps of the state of Lower Saxony

Background

A noise action plan is an environmental planning instrument with the aim of drawing up an up-to-date inventory of noise pollution with the participation of the public and on the basis of environmental noise mapping, thus helping to reduce environmental noise pollution in the long term. A noise action plan thus provides a source of information for citizens and a planning basis for cities, municipalities and other decision-makers.

Until 2015, noise action planning for railroads was carried out by the authorities responsible under state law. On January 1, 2015, responsibility for noise action planning on the main federal railroad lines was transferred to the EBA.

Since 2018, the Federal Railway Authority has been carrying out nationwide noise action planning on the main federal railroad lines every five years in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and is also involved in the noise action planning of the conurbations.

Further procedure

On November 20, 2023, the Federal Railway Authority will publish the draft noise action plan for federal railroad lines and the second phase of public participation in Round 4 will begin.

Citizens can participate via the following participation platform

• Participation platform for noise action planning