Managing human intervention in nature and landscape

Latest Update: September 2023

Rules of intervention under nature conservation law

Every mining activity is associated with interventions in nature and landscape and can result in serious environmental impacts. Compensatory actions, such as compensatory or substitution measures and compensatory payments are intended to compensate for interventions in nature and landscape and to restore their natural function.
Overall, it is estimated that just over 1 % of Germany’s entire area will be necessary to ensure the country’s natural resources in the medium and long term. On the last key date of 31 December 2021, according to the Federal Office of Statistics approx. 1,407 km², i. e. approx. 0.4% of the area of Germany is used as mining land.1 In the last 30 years or so, the amount of land required for quarrying in Germany has therefore decreased by over 20% (392 km²). The equivalent in area for the volume of natural resources used in 2021 was just over 30 km². In relation to the total area of Germany (357,582 km²), this results in a temporary land requirement of approx. 0.008% of the country’s area for 2021.2 The areas used for the extraction of natural resources are concentrated in different regions, which means that there are significant differences in how strong the different regions are affected by the impacts on nature and landscape.

Legal framework

The BBergG requires the mining operator to take the necessary precautions to reclaim the surface to the extent required by the circumstances (§ 55 (1)(7) BBergG). The term “reclaiming” means proper shaping of the surface used by the mining operation, considering the public interest (§ 4 (4) BBergG). This term covers all activities required for recultivation, without the status quo ante having to be achieved. Within the scope of the obligation under mining law to rehabilitate the area, the obligation that simultaneously exists under nature conservation law to compensate for interventions in nature (§ 13 BNatSchG) may have already been met.3

The Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) establishes the general principle that major interventions in nature and landscape are to be primarily avoided and minimised by the polluter (avoidance obligation). Unavoidable interventions are to be compensated by means of compensatory or substitution measures (hereinafter “compensatory measures”) or, if this is not possible, by a compensatory payment in money (§ 13 BNatSchG). It is not possible to deviate from this general principle and the ensuing legal consequences (first the avoidance, then compensatory measures and, as a last resort, a compensatory payment). In the case of mining measures, the avoidance rule primarily targets a variant that is as environmentally friendly as possible, since site alternatives due to the type of natural resource and technical considerations cannot be possible, and zero variances can be eliminated due to the economic priority of natural resources extraction.

Unavoidable interventions in nature and landscape must therefore be offset or mitigated, particularly through the promotion of natural succession, renaturation, near-natural design, rehabilitation, or recultivation (§ 1 (5) p. 4 BNatSchG (Federal Nature Conservation Act).
Compensatory measures must be maintained and legally secured during the required period. The period of maintenance is determined by the approval authority in the certificate of approval. The perpetrator of the intervention (the polluter) or its legal successor is responsible for the execution, maintenance and safeguarding of the compensatory measures.
In accordance with German federal and European regulations, the possible effects of a project on particularly protected species of animals and plants (special species protection legislation) and on the European protected area network NATURA 2000 is one of the aspects that must be examined in the approval procedures for nature conservation law interventions.
The BNatSchG contains a full regulation, viz. that the laws and norms of the Federal States on the instrumental design of the intervention regulation may not contradict it. To make the regulation more applicable, some Federal States have made supplementary regulations, whereby the practice differs from Federal State to Federal State. For example, the concrete assessment of the amount and the use of compensatory payments differ from Federal State to Federal State. As different biotope type lists are used at Federal State level, the Federal Government produces conversion keys that allow the respective biotope types to be counted.4
The Federal Compensation Ordinance (BKompV) provides specific details of the rules of intervention intended under nature conservation law for projects in the area for which the Federal Administration is responsible. It covers public infrastructure projects (e. g. power lines and pipelines, offshore wind farms, waterway projects and, in the future, Federal autobahns). The objective of BKompV is to standardise the rules of intervention under nature conservation law across all Federal States and make them both more transparent and more effective. Opinions diverge as to whether the Federal States are allowed to make rules that differ from BKompV (Art. 72(3) sentence 3 GG).5

Approval practices in the extraction of natural resources

If a company plans to intervene in nature and landscape by extracting natural resources, the rules of intervention under nature conservation law are examined at the level of the responsible approval authority. Different laws may apply depending on the resource extracted. This depends on which authorities are responsible in a Federal State. A nature conservation authority may be responsible for the extraction of mineral resources that are not subject to mining law or water law (e.g. in Saxony-Anhalt6). In addition, the mining authorities of the Federal States (in the case of free-to-mine and privately-owned mineral resources or underground extraction) or the Federal State authorities responsible for enforcing the state excavation laws, the building and water management laws or the Federal Immission Control Act (in the case of so-called landowner’s mineral resources) may also be involved. This procedure corresponds to the “piggyback procedure”. The rules of intervention are always examined within the framework of the notification and approval procedure under the specific legislation, without separate administration proceedings. The nature conservation authorities must be involved, and they will give their opinion as nature conservation experts. The responsible approval authority then grants the authorisation taking account of the opinion in “consultation” with the responsible nature conservation authorities (§ 17(1) BNatSchG). The responsible approval authority, which makes the decision on the legal consequences of the intervention, is not bound by the recommendation of the nature conservation authorities. It is allowed to differ from these on objective grounds. However, it is compulsory to comply with the provisions of the specific species protection independently of the rules of intervention. Designations of protected areas must also be observed.
As part of the approval procedure, the entrepreneur shall also provide the competent authority with a Landscape Management Plan (LBP), which shall provide information on the location, nature, extent, and timing of the intervention, as well as the intended avoidance and compensatory measures and, where required, the amount of the compensatory payment. In this case, a major part of the necessary compensation is to be regularly provided for renaturation or recultivation (see target definition in § 1(5) sentence 4 BNatSchG). Compensatory measures on external surfaces are necessary, for example, if certain landscape or biotope structures cannot be restored in the same way, if the time that has elapsed between the damage and renaturation is too long or if specific measures are necessary for reasons of species protection.
In the case of the extraction of the so-called “free-to-mine” (e. g. coal, salts, oil, and natural gas) and privately-owned natural resources (e.  g. quarried natural resources, and industrial minerals) governed by the German Federal Mining Act (BBergG), the intervention regulation is processed as per the BNatSchG in accordance with the operating plan procedure under mining law, whereby the obligations as per the BNatSchG apply in full. Compensation for interventions can already take place within the scope of the obligation under mining law to rehabilitate the area (§ 55(1) no. 7 BBergG, § 1(5) sentence 4 BNatSchG). If this is not possible, compensatory and/or substitution measures or subordinated compensatory payments pursuant to BNatSchG are necessary (see North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) example below). In the case of procedures which are subject to the Federal Mining Act (BBergG), the legal instruments of the Federal Mining Act are applied, such as (and in particular) regular monitoring based on the main operating plans, which must be submitted and re-approved every two years.

Documentation of compensatory measures for interventions in nature and landscape

Since the amendment of the BNatschG in 2010, German Federal States are obliged to create compensation directories for all interventions in nature. However, these take various forms and are not publicly available in all Federal States.

Overview of compensation directories in the Federal States

Federal State
 

Publicly visible
 

Central for the federal state
 

Comprehensive information on the intervention area and type of compensation
 

Weblink

Information on Replacement Payments
 

Baden-Württemberg

Yes

no

Yes

https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/kompensationsverzeichnis
 

A list of compensation payments can be requested from the Nature Conservation Fund Foundation.
 

Bavaria

Yes

Yes

Yes

https://www.lfu.bayern.de/natur/oefka_oeko/index.htm
 

Lists of replacement payments can be requested at county government level.
 

Berlin

Yes

Yes

no

http://fbinter.stadt-berlin.de/fb/index.jsp

Lists of replacement payments can be requested at the county level.

Brandenburg

no

Yes

no

Under construction

A list of replacement payments can be requested from the Senator for Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Urban Development and Housing.
 

Bremen

Yes

Yes

Yes

https://www.bauumwelt.bremen.de/umwelt/natur/gis_dienste___geodaten-48536

A list of replacement payments can be requested from the Senator for Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Urban Development and Housing.
 

Hamburg

Yes

Yes

Yes

https://geoportal-hamburg.de/geoportal/geo-online
 

The total amount of the compensation payments can be viewed publicly via the annual balance sheet of the special fund for nature conservation.

Hessen

Yes
 

Yes
 

Yes
 

https://www.kompensationsflaechen-mv.de/wiki/index.php/Homepage

https://www.kompensationsflaechen-mv.de/wiki/index.php/Homepage

Replacement payments are not publicly visible.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
   

Yes

Yes
 

Yes
 

https://www.kompensationsflaechen-mv.de/wiki/index.php/Homepage

https://www.kompensationsflaechen-mv.de/wiki/index.php/Homepage

Replacement payments are not publicly visible.
 

Lower Saxony
 

Partially

no

Partly (see example district of Cuxhaven)

https://cuxland-gis.landkreis-cuxhaven.de/internet/kompensationsflaechen
 

Replacement payments are not publicly visible.

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Planned
 

no

Yes

e.g. B. https://www.duesseldorf.de/stadtgruen/landschafts-und-naturschutz/eingriffsregel/ersatzgeld.html https://cuxland-gis.landkreis-cuxhaven.de/internet/kompensationsflaechen
 

The list of replacement money is published on the Internet. Information (also on the use of the replacement payments) can be found on the website of the responsible districts and urban districts.
 

Rhineland-Palatinate
 

Yes
 

Yes
 

Yes
 

http://www.naturschutz.rlp.de/?q=kartendienst
 

A list of compensation payments can be requested from the Nature and Environment Foundation.
 

Saarland

no

no

no

-

Eco-account measures can be viewed via the Saarland Geoportal (www.geoportal.saarland.de).
 

Saxony

no

Yes

no

https://www.umwelt.sachsen.de/umwelt/natur/15205

Lists of replacement payments can be requested at county government level.
 

Sachsen-Anhalt

Partly (eco accounts: yes, compensation register: no)
 

Yes
 

no
 

http://ekis.geolock.de/
 

Replacement payments are not publicly visible.
 

Schleswig-Holstein

Yes

no
 

no
 

http://www.lksh.de/forst/oekokonto/
 

A list of replacement payments can be requested from the Ministry for Energy Transition, Agriculture, Environment, Nature and Digitization.
 

Thuringia

no

Yes

Yes

Compensation payments are to be made to the Thuringia Nature Conservation Foundation (SNT). The corresponding overview lists are not publicly accessible. So far there have been no compensation payments from mining projects.

Source: own presentation, as of: December 2022

Example of the transparency of compensation directories in Baden-Wuerttemberg

The basis for the compensation directory in Baden-Wuerttemberg is formed by § 17(6) of the BNatSchG and § 18 of NatSchG BW, the compensation directory regulation (KompVzVO) and the eco-account regulation (ÖKVO) of the State, which provide for the obligation to make documentation available for the public. The latter two regulations can be downloaded from the website of the Baden-Wuerttemberg State Institute for the Environment. The Baden-Württemberg compensatory register is divided into the sections “eco-account” and “impact compensation”.
An eco-account is an instrument for the perpetrators of interventions (polluters). It enables them to decouple compensation measures temporally and spatially from the mining area, making the measures more flexible to manage. Compensatory measures can be stockpiled via so-called “eco-points”, which are accumulated by means of the targeted enhancement of external areas through nature conservation. The corresponding eco-points can be allocated for later interventions to compensate for the interventions either in whole or in part. Polluters such as natural resource companies and local authorities are involved here as bodies of measures, consumers, and traders of eco-points.

A central overview of the total number of all interventions in Baden-Wuerttemberg, including their compensatory measures, is not available; however, the legal environmental protection eco-account measures and the compensatory measures already assigned to an intervention under nature conservation law can be accessed via the Internet sites of the responsible nature conservation sub-authorities at city and county levels (https://www. lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/oeffentliches-verzeichnis-abteilung-oekokonto), where the following information on the nature conservation compensatory measures of the counties is available:

  • description of the approval authority and the compensatory measure (short description),
  • file number and date of the approval certificate,
  • type of project causing the intervention,
  • project developer,
  • location of the compensation area,
  • measures for the timely implementation of the compensatory measure and the fixed period of maintenance,
  • state of the implementation.

The following information on eco-account measures can also be accessed:

  • complex of measures,
  • status,
  • natural area,
  • location of the measure,
  • eco-points.
Compensatory measures on intervention areas and substitute areas are documented in the compensation directory of the Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Measures taken since April 2011 have been listed. At present work is proceeding with updating KompVzVO. In future, compensatory measures under building planning law within the meaning of § 1a (3) and 200a BauGB are also to be included, if they are carried out outside the impact area of the development plan, in a spatially separate partial area of application of the impact development plan, in the area of application of a compensatory development plan, on areas provided by the municipality outside the impact development plan or on areas in another municipality (§ 18 (2) NatSchG BW). In addition, Natura 2000 and species protection-related measures are to be recorded. It is intended that this will provide greater transparency and make it easier to verify these measures. Besides, impairments of Natura 2000 sites below the significance threshold should also be recorded to better determine possible summation effects (as documented in the so-called summation register), cf. § 18 (3) NatSchG BW.

Example of the assessment of compensatory payments in North-Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)7

According to § 15 (6) BNatSchG, in the case of an authorised intervention the polluter can make a payment as an Ultima Ratio if negative impacts on nature are unavoidable, or if they cannot be compensated or replaced within a reasonable period. The compensatory payment is based on the average costs of the non-feasible compensation measures, including the necessary average costs for their planning and maintenance, as well as the provision of the area, which encompasses personnel and other administrative costs. If these costs cannot be ascertained, the compensatory payment is based on the duration and severity of the intervention, considering the advantages accruing to the polluter (§ 15 (6) sentence 1 et seq. BNatSchG).
The assessment of the amounts of compensatory payment is the exception rather than the rule in the approval of the activities of the extractive industry in North-Rhine-Westphalia. Nevertheless, there are cases in which, for example, a major part of the compensation takes place in recultivation, but a small computational, compensation deficit still must be implemented on an external area, or the assessment of the compensation through rehabilitation will not be appropriate. If the area in question or the required measure is unavailable or can neither be implemented nor is expedient at a reasonable cost, a relevant compensatory payment is assessed. In North-Rhine-Westphalia, this assessment is made in accordance with the provisions of the State-level Nature Conservation Law (LNatSchG NRW) in consultation with the nature conservation authorities of the same administrative level (§33 (1), LNatSchG NRW).
The recipient of the compensation payment is the county or town/city in which the intervention is carried out; the compensation money is to be earmarked for nature conservation and landscape management measures (§ 31 (4) LNatSchG NRW).
If the compensatory payment is to be paid for an intervention in forested areas or to be used for the afforestation of land, the payment will be made available to the forestry administration and earmarked for that purpose (§ 31 (4) LNatSchG NRW).
Examples of the assessments of compensatory payments are the open-cast gravel mines in the open-cast mining zones in front of the lignite mining projects. In three of the open-cast mines, rehabilitation that is valuable in nature conservation terms was not indicated because open-cast lignite mining would use the area directly after the gravel or sand extraction operations. In these cases, the local sub-authority for nature conservation developed a simplified procedure by means of which an appropriate compensatory payment could be assessed. A total of €265,767.90 in compensatory payments was assessed for the three projects mentioned above.
For another open-cast gravel mining project, a small-scale expansion was planned for which a compensatory payment was assessed, if the intended recultivation could not be implemented. The county sub-authority for nature conservation, however, would have to use the compensatory payment of €21,900 it received to implement another equivalent compensatory measure.
In the period between 2011 and 2015, only a total of around €300,000 in compensatory payments were assessed for the North-Rhine Westphalia mining. authorities. The significance of compensatory payments in the procedures carried out under mining law has fallen considerably between 2015 and 2019. During this period, the total amount was less than €100,000.
So far, there have been no compensatory payments for the opencast lignite mining industry in North-Rhine Westphalia; intervention compensation is mainly carried out in the form of rehabilitation. The ratio of the many open-cast mining projects (especially lignite mining projects, some of which are on a large scale) conducted under mining law in North-Rhine Westphalia to the few small projects mentioned above shows that the assessment of compensatory payments plays a subordinate role.

Cooperation between stakeholders

Since each extraction of natural resources represents a significant intervention in nature and landscape, an environmentally friendly extraction development and technology approach must be standard for companies in this sector. Timely renaturation and recultivation can contribute to the promotion of biological diversity; but operating extraction sites are also habitats for rare animals and plants. Cooperation between the extractive companies, the employees there and nature conservationists who are familiar with the area has proven to be useful. This means that operational management can be adapted to local and specific biodiversity requirements. This usually succeeds if the company management and employees are continually involved in dialogue with specialist nature conservation institutions and persons. In the case of expansions or new extraction projects, an early dialogue between the stakeholders can also avoid conflicts before they arise. Information and training materials on the subject help to broaden the impact of initiatives like this, which are supported by strong memberships in the environmental and nature conservation associations, the industrial trade union for the construction, agriculture and environment sectors, and economic associations at Federal Government and Federal State levels.

Provisions

In Germany, federal legislation stipulates that companies which extract natural resources must conduct recultivation measures. These usually include measures which are still necessary after closure of the mine concerned, such as measures for the rehabilitation of the mine area and recultivation measures.
Provisions are set aside for these financial obligations under accounting rules. The amount of the provisions to be set aside is based on the requisite amount calculated according to reasonable and prudent business judgement to meet financial obligations. When assessing provisions, future cost increases must be taken into consideration. The expected dates of fulfilment are dependent on the remaining economic useful life of the extraction sites in question. The obligations of some companies extend far beyond the year 2050. Long-term provisions with a residual maturity of more than one year are discounted according to the average market interest rate appropriate for the residual maturity and calculated by the German Bundesbank in accordance with a legislative decree and announced each month. Provisions are shown on the liabilities side of the balance sheet in the annual financial statements of the extractive sector companies. They are examined by auditors as part of the audit review. The appropriateness of provisions is audited by the tax authorities regarding tax issues.

Provisions made by companies which must publish their annual financial statements are shown transparently at http://www.bundesanzeiger.de. The duty of disclosure pursuant to § 325 HGB always applies to all limited companies and all commercial partnerships without a natural person as a personally liable shareholder (e. g. GmbH & Co. KG).

Implementation securities

Implementation securities are an instrument provided in Germany to implement the renaturation, safeguarding and rehabilitation measures to be taken by extractive sector companies. If a company should fail or refuse to carry out the above measures, the authorities ensure that no additional costs will have to paid by the public by means of so-called “substitute performances”.
Implementation securities are expressly provided for under the Federal Mining Act (BBergG) as an official instrument for natural resources extraction projects which are subject to the BBergG. Individual Federal States have introduced similar legislation in their excavation laws (or other subordinate excavation regulations) for the extraction of natural resources which is outside the legal scope of the BBergG. Implementation securities can also be established to ensure the implementation of compensatory and substitution measures for interventions in nature and landscape, pursuant to § 17(5) of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG).
Within the scope of its discretion pursuant to § 56 (2) BBergG the mining authority may make the granting of operating plan permits dependent on an implementation security if this is necessary to guarantee (in particular) the implementation of measures for risk prevention and rehabilitation in the areas affected by the extraction of the natural resources. This applies to follow-up measures of mining activities such as water drainage, for example, but also to the dismantling of equipment, the removal of water-endangering substances and the securing of former extraction sites by backfilling them or blocking them off completely.
In principle, the mining authority may permit any suitable form of implementation security if it considers that such a security is necessary and if there are no restrictions arising from the relevant statutory provisions. Forms of implementation security include the deposit of cash and bonds, mortgages, special default insurances, operational provisions, bank, or group guarantees and so-called strict letters of comfort.
Operating provisions, bank guarantees or insurance guarantees and, particularly in the case of large companies, corporate guarantees and letters of comfort are customary in the natural resources extractive sector. Cash and bonds are not usually accepted as securities since the management of these instruments is too complex for the authorities. Therefore, securities are not deemed to be payments from companies to government agencies.
The amount of the implementation security to be set is based on the estimated cost of a (necessary) substitute performance. If a project is to be implemented in stages, the implementation security is set up in stages based on the actual intervention and is approved on a pro rata basis after successful partial rehabilitation.
The special purpose vehicles planned for the Lausitz lignite coalfield are a special case. These were set up in the course of the 2018/2019 precautionary agreements (amended in 2021)8 between the open-cast mine operator LEAG and the Federal States of Brandenburg and Saxony to ensure compliance with the obligations to rehabilitate and provide any aftercare for the mining areas.9 The company provides these special purpose vehicles with a special fund earmarked for the purpose. A basic amount is planned for this purpose, and it is intended that this will be increased every year, depending on the company’s current profits. If the company becomes insolvent or if it relocates abroad, the special fund is to be pledged to the respective Federal States. Compensation payments connected with the phasing out of coal (see chapter 8) will be paid directly into the special purpose vehicles. The precautionary agreement in the central German coalfield (Saxony) was updated and continued on 29 March 2022 by means of an addendum. The precautionary agreement in the central German coalfield (Saxony-Anhalt) will continue unchanged.

1 Destatis: Table 33111-0001. URL: https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?sequenz=statistikTabellen&selectionname=33111#abreadcrumb (Accessed on 11 September 2023).

2 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) (1): Germany – Raw materials situation 2020 (dated November 2021), page 23. URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2020.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=4 (Accessed on 12 September 2022).

3 For more information on compensation for impacts on nature caused by the extraction of natural resources, see chapter 7.1, Documentation of compensatory measures for interventions in nature and the landscape.

4 The conversion keys are published here: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2021): Impact regulation. URL: https://www.bfn.de/themen/planung/ eingriffe/eingriffsregelung.html (Accessed on 09 December 2022).

5 Currently, Baden-Württemberg (§ 15 (5) sentence 3 NatSchG BW) and Bavaria (Art. 8 (3) sentence 2 BayNatSchG) have made use of this option

6 In Saxony-Anhalt, § 11 of the Nature Conservation Act of Saxony-Anhalt (NatSchG LSA) states that the extraction of mineral resources that are not subject to mining law or water law, including sand, gravel, marl, loam, clay, limestone and other rock, gypsum, peat and mud, requires the approval of the nature conservation authority (usually the lower nature conservation authority) if the area to be extracted is larger than 100 m². The content and procedure, including the avoidance, compensation, or replacement measures to be taken as well as compensation payments and securities, are governed by the provisions of § 13 to 18 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act and §§ 6 to 10 NatSchG LSA, unless the provisions of §§ 12 to 14 NatSchG LSA provide otherwise.

7 The procedure described applies on a nationwide basis.

8 Cf.: https://www.leag.de/de/news/details/vorsorgevereinbarung-mit-brandenburg-aktualisiert/ , https://www.leag.de/de/news/details/ vorsorgevereinbarung-mit-sachsen-aktualisiert/

9 Cf: https://lbgr.brandenburg.de/lbgr/de/aktuell/buergerinformationen/vorsorgevereinbarung/ and https://www.oba.sachsen.de/ kohleausstieg-4084.html (Accessed on 14 December 2022)

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Glossar

In Federal States in which legislation does not include an excavation law and the State-level Nature Conservation Law does not apply to the extraction of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations, this type of natural resource extraction falls within the scope of the relevant state building regulations.

Legal limitations also exist: State building regulations apply to the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.), for example, in quarries with an area of up to 10 hectares (ha) in which no blasting is carried out. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable.
In Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, the above-ground excavation of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations is determined at state level by the existing excavation laws (AbgrG). For the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.) in quarries where blasting does not occur, the AbgrG applies to sites with an area of up to 10 ha. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable. In the other Federal States, this type of natural resources extraction is regulated by the respective state building regulations or by the state-level nature conservation laws.

In general, the AbgrG applies to those raw materials the excavation of which is not directly subject to mining law or the mining authorities. These raw materials include (in particular) gravel, sand, clay, loam, limestone, dolomite and other rocks, bog mud and clays. However, the jurisdiction between AbgrG and mining law can vary from case to case in the case of certain raw materials, such as quartz gravels. The requested authority must always verify its own jurisdiction in each case. The AbgrG also encompasses surface area usage and the subsequent rehabilitation of the area.
The German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) is the most important and practice-relevant law in the field of environmental law. It constitutes the basis for the approval of industrial and commercial installations. In the natural resources extraction industry, quarrying companies must have approval to extract stones and earth. Every quarrying area of 10 hectares or more must undergo a full approval procedure, including public participation and UVP (environmental impact assessment). A more simplified approval procedure is used for quarrying areas of less than 10 hectares.

The sphere of responsibility for the legal immission control approval procedure is fully specified in the Immission Control Acts of the Federal States. The Federal States are tasked with the administrative enforcement of the approval procedure. Each individual state’s Environment Ministry – the highest local immission protection authority – usually bears the responsibility for this procedure. Subordinate authorities include regional councils, district authorities and lower-level administrative authorities. Administrative jurisdiction generally lies with the lower-level administrative authorities.
The GDP measures the value of goods and services produced domestically (creation of value) within a given period (quarter, year). The Federal Office of Statistics calculates the GDP as follows: production value minus intermediate consumption = the gross value added; plus taxes on products and minus subsidies = GDP
The gross value added is calculated by deducting intermediate consumption from the production values, so it only includes the value added created during the production process. The gross value added is valued at manufacturing prices, i.e. without the taxes due (product taxes), but including the product subsidies received.

During the transition from gross value added (at manufacturing prices) to GDP, the net taxes (product taxes less product subsidies) are added globally to arrive at an assessment of the GDP at market prices’. Source: Destatis
The planning approval procedure under mining law is used for the approval procedure of a general operating plan for projects which require an environmental impact assessment (§§ 52(2a), in conjunction with 57 a of the BBergG).
There are different definitions and methodological approaches at the international as well as at the national level as to what subsidies are and how they are calculated. According to the definition of the German government’s subsidy report, this report considers federal subsidies for private companies and economic sectors (ie grants as cash payments and tax breaks as special tax exemptions) which are relevant to the budget. Subsidies at the federal level can be viewed via the subsidy reports of the federal states (see Appendix 5 of the German government subsidy report).
In compliance with § 68(1), Water Resources Act (WHG), the excavation of landowners’ natural resources such as gravel, sand, marl, clay, loam, peat and stone in wet extraction operations requires a planning approval procedure. The reason for this is that groundwater is exposed in wet extraction, resulting in above-ground water. The planning approval procedure is implemented by lower-level water authorities.

The procedural steps of the planning approval procedure are governed by the general provisions of §§ 72 to 78 of the Administrative Procedures Act (VerwVfG). Within the meaning of § 68(3), nos. 1 and 2 of the WHG, the plan may only be established or approved if an impairment of the common good is not to be expected and other requirements of the WHG as well as other public-law provisions are fulfilled.