Apply for a permit under water law for the construction, expansion or use of rail-specific infrastructure

If you want to build, expand or operate Deutsche Bahn operating facilities and this is associated with impacts on bodies of water, you must apply for a permit under water law from the Federal Railway Authority.

If you build Deutsche Bahn operating facilities

• construct,
• expand or
• use,

this has an impact on bodies of water in most cases.

This includes, for example

• inland waters above ground,
• coastal waters or
• groundwater.

Structures such as buildings or bridges as well as excavation supports such as sheet piling, which are permanently or temporarily immersed in groundwater, can affect the quality of water bodies. The same applies, for example, to wastewater or precipitation that is discharged into surrounding rivers and lakes or groundwater.

In principle, the state manages the waters. Therefore, if you build or use railway-specific infrastructure such as operating facilities of federal railroads and have an impact on water bodies, you will always need a permit. You apply for the permit at the Federal Railway Authority (EBA).

You have no right to be allowed to use the waters. The granting of a permit under water law is at the discretion of the EBA.

To apply for a water permit, you can use the EBA application portal. You will find the following online applications there:

• WREBAU for temporary use of water bodies
• WRE-ENG for discharges of precipitation water into water bodies

If you apply for the water permit in the EBA application portal:

• Overview map at a scale of 1:10,000 or 1:25,000 with
  • all discharges and their catchment areas specified in the application,
  • Drainage systems, for example combined or separate systems, and
  • water bodies
• Official site plan or cadastral map extract (scale 1:1000, 1:500 or adapted accordingly)
• Proof of the expert's professional suitability

If you are applying for the water permit by post or by e-mail from the EBA:

• Letter of application
• Detailed explanatory report with more detailed information on the origin and possible contamination of the water
• Overview map at a scale of 1:10,000 or 1:25,000
• Site plan at a scale of 1:1,000, 1:500 or adapted accordingly
• Longitudinal sections at a scale of 1:1,000, 1:500 or adapted accordingly
• Proof of the expert's professional suitability

Depending on the subject of the application, you may need to submit further documents. You can find out what these are in each specific case

• in the information sheets on the granting of a permit under water law for the discharge of wastewater into bodies of water or for the use of bodies of water during construction work

• on the homepage of the respective online service in the EBA application portal:
  • WRE-BAU for water uses during construction work
  • WRE-ENG for discharges of precipitation water into water bodies

• This is an operating facility of federal railroads.
• The construction, expansion or use of your railroad operating facilities is associated with the use of water, for example by
  • damming up or lowering bodies of water,
  • taking water from a body of water and discharging it, for example as process water,
  • extracting, extracting and discharging groundwater,
  • removing solid substances from a body of water or
  • discharging or introducing substances into bodies of water.
• No harmful, unavoidable or uncompensatable changes to water bodies are to be expected.
• The application is accompanied by expert assessors and you can provide evidence of participation.

• Appeal. Detailed information on how to lodge an objection can be found in the notification.
• Administrative court action
  

You can apply for a water permit online, by post or by e-mail.

Apply for a water permit online:

• Go to the application portal of the Federal Railway Authority (EBA).
• Log in with your user data.
  • If you do not yet have a user account for the Federal Railway Authority's application portal, you will need to register once.
• Call up the following online service as required:
  • WRE-BAU for water uses during construction work
  • WRE-ENG for discharges of precipitation water into water bodies
• The application wizard guides you step by step through the required information. Complete the application form in full.
• Upload the required documents as a PDF file and send the application. The file must not be larger than 30 megabytes. You will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt.
• The EBA will check your documents and send you a notification informing you of the decision on your application.
• Once the procedure has been completed, you will also receive a notification of costs.

Apply for a water permit by post or e-mail:

• Submit a written application in accordance with the specifications in the relevant information sheets.
• Attach all the necessary documents and send the application to the EBA by post or e-mail. The files in the e-mail attachment must not be larger than 10 megabytes. You will receive a confirmation of receipt.
• The EBA will check your documents and send you a notification informing you of the decision on your application.
• Once the procedure has been completed, you will also receive a notification of costs.

You must apply for a permit under water law in good time before you start using the water.

Depending on the scope, subject matter and quality of the documents, it will take at least 10 weeks to process your application.

The total amount of fees you have to pay depends on the time required to process your application:

• Hourly rate: EUR 120.00
• for every quarter of an hour or part thereof: EUR 30.00