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The commissioning of new evaporative cooling plants, cooling towers and wet separators is subject to notification, as are changes and decommissioning of plants and changes of operator.

Under certain conditions, evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators can emit water droplets (aerosols) containing legionella, which can lead to severe pneumonia and even death if inhaled by humans.

Legionella are naturally occurring water bacteria that enter technical water systems from the environment in low concentrations. Under conditions favorable to them, they can proliferate strongly in these systems. Insofar as aerosols can escape from these systems into the ambient air, there is a risk that Legionella will be carried into the outside air and thus lead to a health hazard in the vicinity of these technical systems.

Against the background of several legionellosis outbreaks from technical water systems that have occurred in Germany in recent years, the legislature has now passed a regulation throughout Germany to provide binding rules on the application of the state of the art as well as directly applicable technical and organizational obligations for the construction and operation of evaporative cooling systems, cooling towers and wet separators.
The aim is to prevent hazards and to mitigate the effects of improper operating conditions that nevertheless occur, thus minimizing the health risk to the public.

The operator of such a plant has to notify the competent authority at the latest one month after the first filling with service water and immediately, at the latest within one month in case of a change of the plant or a plant shutdown as well as a change of operator. Existing plants must be notified by 19.08.2018. The web application KaVKA-42.BV is used for the electronic creation and receipt of notifications. The obligation to notify arises from § 13 of the 42nd BImSchV. The notification must include, among other things, information on the location of the plant, the operator and information on laboratory testing.

Operation of a plant according to 42. BImSchV

Fees are governed by the Cost Ordinance for Official Acts in the Enforcement of the Immission Control Laws and their Implementing Ordinances
(Immission Control Costs Ordinance - ImmSchKostVO M-V)

The notification is done via the "Cadastre for the registration of evaporative cooling plants 42. BImSchV - KaVKA" .

In order to display a plant, registration in the KaVKA-42.BV system is first required. After successful registration, the master data of the workplace (the location of the plant) and the plant can be recorded and the notification can be sent to the competent authority.

Under the following link you will find Instructions for application and registration.

The operator of a new plant shall notify the competent authority no later than one month after the first filling with service water.

Existing plants were to be notified to the competent authority no later than one month after July 19, 2018.

Changes to the plant, plant decommissioning and change of operator must be notified without delay, but no later than within one month.

This administrative service does not constitute an administrative act. For this reason, no legal remedy results.

• Notification requirements concerns new
  • Evaporative cooling systems,
  • cooling towers and
  • wet separators
• as well as modifications and decommissioning of plants and change of operator.

State Offices for Agriculture and Environment, Immission control authorities of the counties and districtsn cities or large county municipalitiesn Cities

The notification is made electronically via the "Cadastre for the registration of evaporative cooling plants 42. BImSchV - KaVKA" .

The data to be reported are derived from Annex 4 Part 2 of the 42nd BImSchV.