Our employees only speak German in the office and on the phone.

Applying for approval of a framework operating plan for mining with environmental impact assessment (EIA)

  • Unternehmensstart und Gewerbezulassung

If an environmental impact assessment is mandatory for a mining project, you must draw up a mandatory framework operating plan.

  • Basic information

    In order to be able to establish, expand and operate an exploration, extraction or processing operation, you as an entrepreneur need an approved operating plan. An operating plan is an instrument used in German mining law for approval and operational monitoring. It generally includes comprehensive explanations and planning documents for planned mining measures.
    The general operating plan sets the outermost framework for your planned mining activity and defines the key data of your business project. In contrast to main and special operating plans, framework operating plans are drawn up for a longer period of time. The framework operating plan procedure clarifies whether or under what conditions your entire mining project can be realized at a specific location.
    If an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required, you must have a planning approval procedure under mining law carried out with public participation. To do this, you must define the scope of the investigation for the EIA report:

    • Content,
    • scope,
    • depth of detail and
    • methods to be used for the investigations.

    A scoping meeting is held with you and with the involvement of other authorities and agencies on the basis of a brief description of the project. The public is also involved here. Public participation can also be carried out in digital form in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Security Act (PlanSiG).

    The hearing and plan approval authority is usually the mining authority of the federal state in which your mining project is located.

    The plan approval decision does not yet have a "permitting" effect. You are not yet permitted to implement any specific mining measures, such as overburden or extraction work, seismic surveys, the construction of drilling sites or the drilling of boreholes. For this purpose, separate procedures must be carried out in further steps for the approval of main or special operating plans to be submitted by you. Only once these have been approved by the responsible mining authority may you carry out specific mining activities.

    Requirements

    Certain requirements must be met for a positive decision to be made on your mandatory framework operating plan:

    • Your project must not conflict with any overriding public interests.
    • The environmental assessment must be positive.
    • You must apply for and describe all permits, authorizations, permissions and approvals to be concentrated in such detail that they can be granted in the decision.
    • For certain mineral resources (non-mining mineral resources), you must prove that you have or can obtain the official authorization for the exploration or extraction of mineral resources.
    • In the case of natural resources, you need ownership rights or lease agreements for the majority of the area
    • You must take all necessary safety measures to prevent risks to life and health and to protect property, employees and third parties in the company, insofar as you can already describe this.
    • Your work must not impair other natural resources whose protection is in the public interest.
    • The waste produced must be properly reused or disposed of.
    • You must always describe how you will take precautions to ensure that
      • the surfaces can subsequently be made usable again to the extent required by the circumstances,
      • the safety of other mining operations is not jeopardized,
      • the exploration or extraction of mineral resources does not have any harmful consequences for the general public and
      • in the case of mining operations in the area of the continental shelf or coastal waters:
        • shipping facilities and signs are not impaired and
        • shipping and shipping lanes, airspace, fishing and flora and fauna are not unreasonably impaired
        • underwater cables and pipelines as well as oceanographic or other scientific research are not impaired more than is unavoidable under the circumstances and
        • the damaging effects on the sea are kept to a minimum.

    An environmental impact assessment is required if your project involves one of the following points:

    • Your project is expected to have a significant impact on the environment, i.e:
      • You want to construct or operate one of the facilities that is subject to an EIA obligation under the EIA Ordinance on Mining.
      • You are planning a project which, either individually or in combination with other projects or plans, is likely to have a significant impact on a Natura 2000 site.
      • The expansion of the facility exceeds the threshold values of the EIA Mining Ordinance for the first time
      • You want to significantly change your approved project.
      • The requested preliminary assessment results in an EIA obligation.
    • Your project poses a risk of major accidents.
    • Your project consists of several (sub-)projects which together reach or exceed the statutory threshold values for environmental impacts.

  • Procedure

    You can apply for approval for your general operating plan online via the "BergPass" platform or in writing to your competent mining authority.

    Apply for approval online via the "BergPass" platform:

    • Call up the "BergPass" online platform and log in.
    • To register, you need a "My company account" or a BundID.
    • Call up the application form and fill it out completely and truthfully.
    • Upload the required documents as a file and send the application.

    Apply for approval in writing to the responsible mining authority:

    • You must draw up your framework operating plan in such a way that both the approval requirements and other concerns such as groundwater and nature conservation are comprehensively described. For complex projects, it is advisable to contact your responsible mining authority and coordinate the required application documents. The mining authority is obliged to advise you on the procedural requirements and the respective procedure or to provide information
    • Submit all the necessary documents to your competent mining authority.

    Further procedural steps:

    • As part of the consultation, the competent mining authority will check whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required for the approval and thus whether a planning approval procedure is necessary or whether a preliminary EIA must first be carried out or whether you can apply for one.
    • If an EIA obligation is determined, you must prepare the corresponding application documents with an EIA report for the implementation of a planning approval procedure and submit them to the responsible mining authority.
    • The scoping meeting in particular serves to determine the scope of the application documents, especially for the EIA report (content, scope, level of detail, methods to be used for the investigations).
    • You submit your application to the competent mining authority. The competent mining authority will check your application and the submitted documents for completeness. If any documents are missing, the authority will contact you.
    • The competent mining authority will then initiate the involvement of the other authorities and bodies by enclosing the application documents. Your plan will be put on public display for public participation. The authorities, municipalities and recognized associations involved have the opportunity to comment on your plan. Affected citizens have the opportunity to submit objections to the responsible mining authority.
    • The comments and objections are discussed by the mining authority with the authorities, agencies, municipalities, objectors and you as the project sponsor.
    • The competent mining authority summarizes the environmental impact of the project in the planning approval decision. In addition to the results of the EIA report, the comments of the authorities and the affected public and, if applicable, the results of its own investigations are also included in the presentation. The mining authority assesses the environmental impact of the project on the basis of this summary and justifies its assessment as a basis for the decision.
    • Before you receive the binding decision, you will be consulted on the decision and asked to respond within the deadline.
    • You will then receive the planning approval decision as well as the authorities, bodies, municipalities and associations involved in the procedure with the corresponding legal remedy.
    • At the same time, the mining authority makes its final decision public and makes the decision on the approval or rejection of the project, together with the reasons for the decision, available for inspection. The parties involved in the proceedings also have the opportunity to lodge an appeal against the decision within the specified period and will also receive a notice of costs. Pay the fees.

  • Necessary Documents
    • You should clarify with your competent mining authority which documents are required in your case. Special guidelines may be available from the responsible mining authority for the preparation of application documents. Basic
      • Indication of the mineral resource or resources you intend to extract (e.g. clay, feldspar, basalt lava, geothermal energy or hydrocarbons)
      • the company or consortium and associated responsible parties and authorized representatives
      • available proof of authorization
      • Proof of ownership or lease (if already existing)
      • any existing contracts
      • Details of the technical implementation
      • expected timeline
      • the planned area. Important: the size of the previously approved permit or authorization area must not be exceeded
      • Information on nature conservation and species protection
      • Report on the likely environmental impact of your project (EIA report) with all relevant information for the environmental impact assessment
      • Further expert reports (LBP with impact regulation, protected biotopes, Natura 2000-VP, special species protection and technical contribution to the Water Framework Directive)

  • Competent Department

  • Online Services

  • Fees / Costs

    575,00 EUR bis 17.251,00 EUR

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    5 years Period of validity:
    If you have not started the project within 5 years of the decision taking effect, the decision expires.

    How long does it take to process

    1 year bis 3 years
    The processing time depends on the scope and complexity, as well as on the planned measures and the quality of the application documents. As a guide, you can expect 1 to 3 years.

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

Feedback on quality

Your feedback will help us to identify and solve problems. You will not receive a personal response. Please do not submit any personal data.

Did you find what you were looking for?
How do you rate this page?*
*Mandatory field

This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.

The official information in German is complete and correct. 19.05.2026

Dienstleistungen · syfq nzm