Hydropower plants - Authorization
The construction, operation and modernization of hydropower plants generally require a permit or approval under water law from the responsible water authority. For the Saale as a first-order watercourse, this is the Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation (poststelle@tlubn.thueringen.de(link sends email)). For streams as water bodies of the second order, the lower water authority in the Water / Soil / Waste team is responsible for approval.
Details
The construction, operation and modernization of hydropower plants are regularly associated with the use of water bodies within the meaning of Section 9 of the Federal Water Act (WHG):
- Damming of a surface water body
- Discharge and reintroduction of water
Sometimes the watercourse or its banks are significantly altered during the implementation of the project. This watercourse development according to § 68 WHG requires planning approval or planning permission.
Objective: To make the Saale river passable again for migratory fish species upstream and downstream
According to Section 35 (1) WHG, the use of hydropower may only be permitted if suitable measures are taken to protect the fish population. The aim of the state of Thuringia is to make the Saale river passable again for migratory species upstream and downstream (State Water Protection Program 2022-27). If necessary, existing facilities will be modified accordingly.
Unified body
In accordance with Section 11a (2) WHG, the permit, approval and all other approval procedures under federal or state law are handled by a single body at the request of the project developer in order to inform the project developer about the necessary permits, responsibilities, evidence and documents to be provided before the application is submitted and thus speed up the procedure as a whole.
Further information can be found in the "Hydropower Procedure Manual" under Downloads.
Documents
The applicant must submit the following documents, which are required for the assessment of the entire project, in triplicate on paper and once digitally to the responsible water authority:
- Letter of application
- explanatory report
- General site plan
- site plans
- construction drawings
- Watercourse plans
- Hydraulic verifications
- Stability certificates
- List of structures
- List of properties
- Technical contribution to the Water Framework Directive
- Consideration of nature conservation and species protection issues
- Environmental impact study
A detailed explanation of the required application documents can be found in the "Hydropower procedure manual" under Downloads.
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Legal basis
- Water Resources Act
- Thuringian Water Act