Landfills are disposal facilities for the disposal of waste above the surface of the earth (above-ground landfills) or below the surface of the earth (underground landfills). Landfills also include in-house waste disposal facilities for the disposal of waste in which a waste producer disposes of the waste at the place of generation.

The construction and operation of landfills as well as the significant modification of such a facility or its operation require planning approval by the competent authority. In the planning approval procedure, an environmental impact assessment must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act and the public must be involved.

Competent authorities:

• Inert waste (construction waste) landfills: District administrative authorities
• Other landfills: Governments

For the construction and operation of a landfill, the project sponsor must submit a written application to the competent authority, which must contain at least

• the name and domicile or registered office of the project sponsor, the operator and the author of the design,
• an indication of whether planning approval or planning permission or approval for early commencement is being applied for,
• Location and name of the landfill,
• justification of the necessity of the measure,
• capacity of the landfill,
• List of waste with details of the waste codes and waste designations in accordance with the Annex to the Waste Catalogue Ordinance and a description by type and nature,
• Information on the legal planning designations of the site, the site conditions, the hydrology, the hydrogeology, the geological conditions, the engineering geology and geotechnical conditions,
• Measures for the construction and deposition phase, including the planned measures to prevent and combat pollution and the control and monitoring measures,
• Measures for the decommissioning and aftercare phase,
• information on the provision of security,
• if landfill substitute construction materials are used, a list of the waste to be used with details of the waste codes and waste designations in accordance with the Annex to the Waste Catalogue Ordinance, including details of the total quantity and properties to be used as well as a description of the areas of use and justification of the necessity of use.

First, the project sponsor contacts the competent authority and informs it of the main content of the project. The type and scope of the planning documents to be submitted, including any expert opinions to be obtained, are clarified. On this basis, the project sponsor prepares the plan and submits it to the competent authority, which initiates the actual approval procedure. The documents are checked for completeness and, if necessary, further documents are requested.

If the application is complete, it is made available for inspection for one month after the usual local announcement. Anyone can raise written objections to the plan up to two weeks after the display. If this is the case, a meeting is held to discuss the objections. The local community and the relevant authorities are always involved.

The final planning approval decision is issued, taking into account everything that has been submitted during the process.

This decision includes all other necessary approvals under public law and comprehensively defines all relationships under public law between the project sponsor and those affected by the plan.

In some cases regulated by law, particularly in the case of significant changes to a landfill or its operation, a planning approval procedure without (general) public participation and without an environmental impact assessment can be carried out instead of a planning approval procedure. However, this can only be considered if the project cannot have any significant adverse effects on humans, animals and plants, soil, water, air, climate, landscape, cultural and other material assets.