Approval of Facilities Under the Federal Clean Air Act

The legislation has specified in the Ordinance on Installations Requiring Permits (4th BImSchV) whether an approval procedure under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) is required for the construction or operation of your facility.

Depending on the type, capacity, and size of your facility, Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV assigns it to a specific type of permit procedure. For example, it specifies whether the application process must include public participation.

Changes to an existing facility approved under the BImSchG must be reported in accordance with Section 15 of the BImSchG; in the case of significant changes, an application for a modification permit must be filed in accordance with Section 16 of the BImSchG.

Information on the permitting process for facilities under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) can be found on the website of the Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining, and Nature Conservation (TLUBN).

Permit Procedures for Renewable Energy Facilities

The administrative process for expanding renewable energy is to be simplified and accelerated. To this end, a “single point of contact” has been established through which permitting procedures and all other approval procedures required for the implementation of the project under federal or state law are handled. The “single point of contact” within the meaning of Section 10(5a) of the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) is the lower-level immission control authority, provided it has subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction over the relevant immission control proceedings. Subject-matter jurisdiction is determined by the Thuringian Ordinance on Jurisdiction in Air Pollution Control (ThürImZVO), and territorial jurisdiction extends to the area of the independent city of Jena.

The Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Nature Conservation, and Forestry has published a procedural manual for environmental protection approval procedures. It is intended to assist investors, project developers, and government officials in making air pollution control permitting procedures more efficient and expedited, and to improve communication and cooperation between applicants, permitting authorities, and all parties involved. It is available under -> Links.

Competent Authority

In Thuringia, jurisdiction over the notification and permitting process is determined by the classification of your facility in Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV:

• Procedure Type V in Column c of Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV: The lower immission control authority of the City of Jena will accept your notification or application for processing.
• Procedure Type G in Column c of Annex 1 of the 4th BImSchV: The TLUBN, as the higher environmental protection authority in Thuringia, will accept your notification or application for processing.

In Thuringia, the ELiA software has been required for preparing notification and application documents since July 1, 2022. The software and instructions for its use are provided by the TLUBN.

Procedure for Submitting an Application

1. Access the “ELiA-Online” online service on the TLUBN website. 
2. Open ELiA-Online by clicking the “Access” button—see the column on the right-hand side.
3. Create the application documents directly in ELiA-Online.
4. Once the permit documents are complete, submit the permit application directly in ELiA-Online. At the same time, select the responsible authority.

• Federal Clean Air Act
• Regulation on Facilities Requiring Permits
• Online Access Act