Hogan Lovells Publications | November 2022

Spotlight on Soil Protection Law in Germany

In Germany the Federal Soil Protection Act (Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz, BBodSchG) and the Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (Bundes-Bodenschutz- und Altlastenverordnung, BBodSchV), represent the central regulations for the area of soil protection in sectoral environmental law.

For companies, measures related to the investigation or remediation of contaminated properties can have significant economic consequences. For them as polluter, property (pre-)owner, as well as tenant or leaseholder of a property, soil protection law entails a high liability risk. This is because soil protection law does not always ask who is "to blame" for a harmful soil change. On the contrary, the ownership or possession of the property is sufficient for the soil protection authority to issue official orders - for example, if the property owner unknowingly takes over a contaminated property from the previous owner. It is therefore necessary to collaborate with the authorities.In Germany the Federal Soil Protection Act (Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz, BBodSchG) and the Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (Bundes-Bodenschutz- und Altlastenverordnung, BBodSchV), represent the central regulations for the area of soil protection in sectoral environmental law.

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