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Description of the
The Equipment and Machinery Noise Protection Ordinance regulates the use of machinery and equipment in certain sensitive outdoor areas. These regulations are generally aimed at both businesses and private individuals.
Devices and machines in
- pure, general and special residential areas,
- Small housing estates,
- Special areas used for recreation,
- spa and clinic areas and
- on the grounds of hospitals and nursing homes
may not be operated outdoors all day on Sundays and public holidays and from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays.
This also applies to motorised devices such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, chain saws, scarifiers and similar devices.
Special regulations exist for
- Brush cutter,
- Grass trimmer and grass edge trimmer,
- Leaf blowers and leaf collectors,
which do not bear the Community eco-label (European eco-label) or do not comply with the requirements for permissible sound power levels of Stage II in Article 12 of Directive 2000/14/EC.
These may also be used in the period between
- 7:00 am and 9:00 am,
- 13:00 and 15:00 and
- 17:00 and 20:00
shall not be operated.
The competent authority may grant exemptions from the operating time restrictions on a case-by-case basis.Anyone using noisy equipment and machinery to avert hazards during storms or snowfall or other hazards to people, the environment or property does not require a special licence.
No special authorisation is required for night-time work in mixed-use areas, commercial and industrial areas if none of the above-mentioned areas are directly affected by the construction work.
An exemption permit is also generally not required for construction sites on roads and railways of supra-regional importance, e.g. federal trunk roads (federal motorways and federal roads with local crossings) and railway lines of federal railways.
Prerequisites
- Work cannot be carried out during the permitted times for understandable reasons
- Work is in the public interest
Deadlines
If an exemption authorisation is required, the corresponding application must be submitted in good time (one week before the start of the measure, two weeks before the start in the case of extensive measures).
Costs
50 to 6,000 EURLegal basis
Procedure
The application to the municipality can be made informally. It should state why a deviation from the specified times is necessary.
Notes
Anyone who operates appliances and machines without the required exemption licence is committing an administrative offence (Section 9 (2) No. 1 of the 32 BImSchV), which can be punished with a fine of up to 2,500 euros.