Application of soil, dredged material, and building materials
The rules set out in the Soil Quality Decree apply to the use of soil, sludge or dredged material, and building materials. The Soil Quality Decree lays down the regulations for quality assurance in soil management, such as the performance of batch inspections and the mixing of different batches of soil or dredged material.
Soil and dredged material
Requirements are imposed on the quality of the soil and dredged material. You must be able to demonstrate the quality with an environmental hygiene statement. An environmental hygiene statement could be, for example:
- (Water) soil investigation (NEN 5720)
- AP-04 batch inspection
- Waterbed quality map
Clean dredged material from waterways may be spread over the entire adjacent plot. In suspicious situations, the water board checks the quality of the dredged material. If the quality is not good, the water board will take action. It is therefore wise to have the quality of a batch of soil or dredged material determined.
Reporting the use of soil, dredged material, and building materials
From January 1, 2024, you must report the use of soil, dredged material, and building materials via the Digital System for the Environment Act (DSO).Environment Desk (overheid.nl)
- Soil and dredged material must always be reported 5 working days before use.
- This also applies to storage for less than 6 months and temporary storage prior to application.
When do you not have to report soil and dredged material?
You do not need to report soil and dredged material in the following cases:
- If you spread dredged material on the adjacent plot.
- If you apply soil or dredged material within an agricultural business. The condition is that the soil or dredged material comes from a plot that belongs to your agricultural business. And that you grow a similar crop on that plot as on the plot where you apply the soil or dredged material.
- If you temporarily move or remove soil or dredged material from the application, and then return it to (virtually) the same place and under the same conditions.
- If you apply clean soil and dredged material in quantities of less than 50 cubic meters.
- If you are a private individual and do not use soil or dredged material for professional purposes.
Building materials
Do you want to use stone-based building materials? The soil and surface water must be protected against contamination. Surface water is all natural water that can be seen on the surface, such as ditches, streams, canals, and ponds, and is connected to groundwater. Therefore, you may only use building materials that comply with the standards set out in the Soil Quality Decree. You can demonstrate this with a soil quality environmental statement. If an employee of the water board asks for the declaration, you must be able to show it.
There are exceptions for certain materials and situations. These are known to almost always meet the standards. For example, no declaration is required for the use of concrete, ceramics, natural stone, masonry mortar, and bricks.
Quality assurance in soil management
Quality assurance in soil management is part of the Soil Quality Decree. This decree specifies the requirements that contractors carrying out soil work must meet. A number of activities may only be carried out by certain companies. These companies must be certified and accredited. These are:
- Soil remediation
- Fieldwork
- Sampling during batch inspections
- Performing a soil analysis
Would your company like to submit an application for accreditation? You can do so at Rijkswaterstaat. This organization implements the accreditation scheme on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
Digital soil and water quality map
All available soil and waterbed information from municipalities, provinces, and the water board itself is important when carrying out activities in the soil and waterbed. Examples include soil transport, the purchase of plots of land (referred to as parcels in the Land Registry), excavation work, dredging or removal of sludge, maintenance of dikes and quays, and the construction of nature-friendly banks.
The digital quality maps contain information about the environmental quality of the waterbeds in rural areas and flood defenses.
- Maintenance work on waterways often releases dredged material or sludge that the water board can use for purposes such as raising and reinforcing flood defenses. By mapping the quality of the waterbed in advance, the dredged material or sludge released does not have to be inspected separately by means of (water)bed research.
- In addition, it will be easier to use soil in bank restoration work. In addition to the water board, municipalities, contractors, and others who carry out dredging or maintenance work on waterways in rural areas also use this map. All of this promotes the sustainable reuse of soil and dredged material or sludge and limits unnecessary transport.
Documents
If for any reason you are unable to read the documents or if you have any questions, please send an email to info@noorderzijlvest.nl.
Soil information
Information about soil at the Information Point for the Living Environment (iplo.nl)