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Environmental information; data on the environment

Environmental information held by bodies obliged to provide information is not a secret. In principle, everyone has the right to access such information.

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Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz

Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz

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Rosenkavalierplatz 2
81925 München

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Postfach 810140

81901 München

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Procedure details

Environmental information held by bodies obliged to provide information (public authorities, municipalities and private-law institutions that perform public tasks or provide public services related to the environment) is not a secret. In principle, everyone has the right of access to such information.

The concept of environmental information is to be understood very broadly. It includes all data on

  • the condition of environmental elements (such as water, air, atmosphere, soil, flora and fauna, landscape, natural habitats)
  • factors (such as substances, energy, noise and radiation, waste, emissions, discharges and other releases of substances into the environment)
  • Measures or activities that have or are likely to have an impact on the environmental elements or on factors or that aim to protect environmental elements
  • Reports on the implementation of environmental legislation
  • cost/benefit analyses in the context of the above measures or activities
  • the state of human health and safety, including contamination of the food chain, conditions for human life and cultural sites and structures to the extent that they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment or by the factors, measures or activities.

The right of access to environmental information is limited to information that is available to or held by the bodies required to provide information.
If public or private interests prevent the disclosure of certain information, the right to information is limited or excluded unless the public interest in disclosure prevails.

The protection of public interests requires this, for example

  • if public safety is jeopardized,
  • if the disclosure of the information would have a negative impact on the environment and its components,
  • if it concerns the disclosure of unfinished or internal administrative documents,
  • if the request is obviously made with abusive intent.

The protection of private interests restricts the disclosure of information if it is

  • is personal data and disclosure would impair the interests of the person concerned that are worthy of protection,
  • concerns intellectual property (in particular copyrights),
  • business and trade secrets.

To obtain information about the environment, a (verbal or written) request must be submitted to the competent authority/institution.
The request must state exactly what information is required.

The competent authorities/institutions are those where the requested information is available (i.e. the authority is not obliged to obtain specific information about the environment).

Examples of competent authorities: City and municipal administrations, district offices, governments, specialized authorities, State Office for the Environment (LfU), Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection (StMUV). Natural or legal persons under private law that perform public tasks or provide public services related to the environment and are subject to the control of the public administration (e.g. TÜV, energy suppliers) also provide information on environmental data.

As a general rule, it is best and quickest to obtain the latest and most complete information/data from the source of the data (e.g. drinking water quality data from the waterworks or the municipality). If you want information for a wider area, it is better to contact authorities that are responsible for larger areas (e.g. district offices, governments, state offices).

The compilation and transmission of environmental information incurs costs (fees and expenses), which are kept within reasonable limits and may have to be invoiced. Oral and simple written information and the inspection of environmental information on site are free of charge. In other respects, the Bavarian state authorities charge fees of between 10 and 2500 euros depending on the amount of work involved and, where applicable, expenses, e.g. for copies (in accordance with tariff nos. 1.I.10/2 or 1.III.0/1.2 of the Schedule of Costs under the Costs Act).
The local authorities charge costs in accordance with their respective cost statutes.
You should therefore also ask what it costs to transmit the information.

Status: 23.09.2024
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz
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