Soil Investigation Advisory Board (FBU) | Umweltbundesamt

Soil Investigation Advisory Board (FBU)

The members of the FBU are recognised experts from federal and state institutions as well as from laboratories and engineering consultants from sectors affected by the enforcement of the BBodSchV.

The FBU compiles findings on advanced soil investigation procedures and methods, publishes them in the collection of methods for the investigation of solid matter (Methodensammlung Feststoffuntersuchung - Methosa) and determines the equivalence of methods and procedures in accordance with Section 25 BBodSchV. With the publication of the equivalence in the Federal Gazette by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), these can be used with legally compliant within the scope of the BBodSchV. The FBU also provides recommendations for sampling, preparing and analysing soil samples and for dealing with measurement uncertainty.

The FBU thus enables the utilisation of current, efficient methods, identifies deficits in soil analysis methods and gives advice to achieve high-quality analysis results.

Tasks

The FBU has numerous tasks based on the regulations of the BBodSchG and BBodSchV. Its main tasks include compiling application information of procedures and methods, determining their suitability and publication of recommendations on issues relating to sampling, sample treatment and analytical measurement.

The tasks are defined in Section 25 BBodSchV as: "It (the FBU) has the task of compiling findings on advanced procedures and methods whose practical suitability for fulfilling the requirements of Sections 10 to 15 and Section 4 appears assured, as well as on their application. To this end, the advisory board may in particular

1. Establish standards for assessing the equivalence and practical suitability of procedures and methods for sampling, pre-treatment, preparation and processing as well as for physico-chemical and chemical analysis,
2. determine the equivalence and practical suitability of procedures and methods for sampling, pre-treatment, preparation and processing as well as for physico-chemical and chemical analyses in general, and
3. make recommendations on the suitability of quality assurance measures, including the permissible uncertainty of results of procedures and methods within the meaning of numbers 1 and 2."

For reasons of legal certainty, the investigation methods and procedures are explicitly cited in the BBodSchV, including the respective dates of publication. Nevertheless, in order to take the advancing state of analytical technology into account and varying investigation conditions, the use of equivalent methods and procedures was authorised for two constellations in Section 24 (11) BBodSchV:

• The user shall provide proof of equivalence to the competent authority in each individual case.
• The FBU determines the equivalence of the method in general, and this determination is published by the BMUV in the Federal Gazette.

Background

On March 1^st 1999, the Federal Soil Protection Act (Bundesbodenschutzgesetz - BBodSchG) came into force, the purpose of which is to sustainably protect or restore the functions of soils. The first Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance came into force on July 17^th 1999. It regulates the requirements for the investigation and assessment of soil contamination as well as for remediation and restriction measures and specifies soil values.

On June 14^th 2000, the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety convened the Soil Investigation Advisory Board (FBU) in order to set up a committee in accordance with Annex 1 BBodSchV of July 17^th 1999. The amendment to the BBodSchV, which came into force on August 1^st 2023, transferred and specified the legal basis for the FBU and its tasks in the newly created Section 25.

Members and Publications of the FBU

The FBU ensures that its work is regularly checked, updated when necessary and summarised in a table with a description of the contents.

Note: The FBU has determined the equivalence of methods and procedures in accordance with Section 25 BBodSchV and this has been published in the Federal Gazette by the BMUV.

The members and permanent guests of the FBU are also named in the table.