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Submit a complaint regarding noise or odour emissions from commercial premises
Do you live near industrial or commercial premises and feel disturbed by the noise and odours they emit?
In such cases, you can contact the supervisory authorities responsible for the facility. They will provide you with information on the applicable legal regulations regarding protection against noise or odours, as well as on ways to improve the situation.
Responsible authority
Responsibilities in the field of air pollution control are set out in the Air Pollution Control Responsibilities Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg.
In most cases, the competent authority is the locally responsible lower air pollution control authority:
- the district office, if the site on which the installation is located is within a district,
- the city council, if the site on which the installation is located is within a city district.
A different allocation of responsibilities applies in the following cases (including, amongst others, establishments subject to the European Industrial Emissions Directive, the Major Accidents Ordinance or mining law):
Departments 5 – Environment of the relevant regional councils are the competent air pollution control authorities for premises on which:
- at least one installation, marked with the letter E in column d of Annex 1 to the Ordinance on Installations Requiring Authorisation,
- at least one operational area as defined in Section 3(5a) of the Federal Immission Control Act (major accident site),
- at least one installation requiring authorisation under Section 60(3), first sentence, point 2 or point 3 of the Water Resources Act, or
- at least one landfill site in accordance with Article 10 in conjunction with Annex I to Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), as amended
exists or is to be constructed.
Department 9 – State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining of the Freiburg Regional Council is also the competent state-wide air pollution control authority for:
- operating sites, including the installations and activities located thereon, which are subject to mining supervision,
- premises with cable cars and funicular railways used for passenger transport,
- premises with high-pressure gas pipelines which, as energy installations within the meaning of the Energy Industry Act, serve to supply gas and are designed for a maximum permissible operating pressure of more than 16 bar,
- facilities for underground waste disposal; and
- Premises with installations used for the creation, substantial extension or substantial alteration of underground cavities.
Details
Prerequisite
none
Procedure
Please contact the relevant department by telephone or in writing.
Please provide as much detail as possible on the following points:
- Name of the business
- Time of the disturbance (for example, ‘It’s particularly noisy at around … o’clock.’)
- Nature of the nuisance (for example, “It smells like …”)
The relevant authority will investigate your complaint and, if necessary, take action against the party responsible to remedy the situation.
Deadlines
none
Required documents
none
Costs
In most cases: none
Note: If the investigation incurs more than minor costs, the authority may charge administrative fees. The authority will inform you of this.
Processing time
depending on the individual case
Miscellaneous
The more detailed your description is, the easier and quicker it will be for the authorities to investigate the businesses in question or assess the situation.
Legal basis
Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG):
- § 52 Überwachung, Einschränkungen von Grundrechten
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 19.05.2026
