Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.
Explosive ordnance surveying in the Lüneburg administrative district
A new path, culvert or slope works affect different areas of ground. Ordnance assessment must suit each proposed intervention. FONTANA-EOD supports project owners and designers in the Lüneburg administrative district with investigating these areas and coordinating them with the construction sequence.
Record the proposed works individually.
Define the scope of groundworks.
Assign reports to the respective construction phases.
Assess the construction project
Record every measure and its ground interventions
For your project in the Lüneburg administrative district, we compare existing records with the planned paths, culverts and working areas. Also draw temporary access routes, slope works and changed connection areas with their proposed depths. From existing findings, we clarify for each site whether an area with suspected ordnance is affected and which investigations remain missing. We coordinate outstanding steps with the designers before each earthworks task.
Documented location references
Reference projects in the Lüneburg administrative district
Select a project location on the map or in the location list. The associated entries lead to the protected reference overview.
The points indicate locations associated with documented references, not precise ordnance find or site coordinates. Several entries may belong to one project. References without a confirmed location assignment are available in the complete reference overview.
Map data: © BKG (2026), VG250 / GN250, Data licence Germany – attribution 2.0. Area outline assembled from official district areas and projected. Selection and project assignment: FONTANA-EOD.
Project references
Selected project examples
Langlingen (Hohnebostel) – borehole magnetometry
Langlingen (Hohnebostel) – new K 52 cycle path Langlingen (Hohnebostel)
Service period: 2026-07
Service areas:Downhole magnetometry / deep-ground survey
Project site
Connect the site with the specific construction task
Identify measures in the Lüneburg administrative district
A project needs its municipality, position and individual measures identified. For path, watercourse and other infrastructure works, assign planning requirements, existing findings and areas actually investigated to the land affected. Clarify local requirements with the responsible authorities in Lower Saxony. Identify the proposed intervention and findings needed for every work section.
Information on explosive ordnance surveying in Cuxhaven, Celle, Stade and Lüneburg supports preparation of your project enquiry. Documents and planned ground disturbance on the respective property are decisive.
Local context
Which groundworks are proposed?
Regional context and site-specific assessment
Alongside Lüneburg district, the Lüneburg administrative district includes Celle, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg (Wümme), Stade and Verden, among others. For a project in this region, clarify explosive ordnance at its specific location. Belonging to the same administrative district establishes neither uniform contamination nor identical investigation requirements. The Hanseatic City of Lüneburg documents the bombing of its railway station on 7 April 1945. For a project on former railway, operating or other land whose use has changed, compare relevant maps, aerial photographs and files with the actual location. Other events and uses may matter elsewhere in the administrative district. Focus research on the specific project area and findings needed.
Path and watercourse planning in Bothel
For the Bothel land consolidation scheme, ArL Lüneburg describes parallel preparation of surveying and a path and watercourse plan, including accompanying landscape planning. Alongside changes to the path network, it identifies support for measures on the Rodau and Wiedau. For the associated groundworks, compare existing ordnance records and outstanding investigation questions separately with the intervention areas.
Wehningen: a specific requirement in the planning decision
For replacement of the Wehningen flood protection and weir installation with the B 195 bridge, the planning approval decision of 2 December 2024 contains a specific requirement: the project promoters must apply for new aerial photograph analyses during further planning. The KBD statement of 16 November 2023 reproduced there identifies aerial photographs not yet fully analysed. Those preparing comparable watercourse and road works should therefore treat ordnance clarification as a separate planning step. Before groundworks, check which investigations are now available and which construction areas they cover.
Requirements
Clarify technical requirements and responsibilities within the project
Relate requirements to the specialist task
For the commissioned activities, the relevant technical requirements and questions of permits, competence certification and responsibility are clarified. The actual planned service scope is decisive. A general company designation does not replace checking that the tasks and interfaces are described appropriately for the specific project.
Link occupational safety to the construction sequence
Risk assessment, work areas and communication must suit the proposed activities. Ordnance specialist works are coordinated with the other construction activities. Operational organisation, traffic safety and other specialist technical inspections retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination brings the information together without equating the different tasks.
Use technical findings correctly
A measurement anomaly first requires specialist assessment; its appearance alone does not identify it as explosive ordnance. If an object is genuinely suspected to be ordnance, the prescribed reporting procedures and the measures set by the responsible authorities apply. Investigation reports specify the work completed and its limitations, so that results are not extended to unexamined areas or later design changes.
Assign requirements in the Wehningen planning approval decision to the affected measure and results needed. For a project in the Lüneburg administrative district identify the municipality, position and specific groundworks. For the path and watercourse measures planned under the Bothel land consolidation scheme coordinate ordnance clarification as a separate technical task against existing findings. The responsibilities of municipalities, specialist contractors and the KBD remain assigned to their respective remits.
For clearance planning relate the investigation objective and necessary specialist works to the areas affected. Assess the suitability of geophysical methods against actual conditions. Include results and limitations in the documentation. For work alongside construction, consider the DGUV guidance on explosive ordnance clearance and technical planning before work starts.
The BFR KMR are used as technical guidance; locally applicable requirements and responsibilities must be clarified separately.
Permits, competence and responsibility for the specific activity are considered under the Explosives Act and the First Ordinance to the Explosives Act. The risk assessment under Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act relates to the planned activities. The DGUV Information 201-027 covers preventive investigation and clearance of conventional explosive ordnance and defines its scope. Its references to DGUV Rule 113-003 concern particular activities involving explosives; they are not applied indiscriminately to every construction-site investigation.
Working together
Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor
Client and operator
The project owner describes the project and provides existing project documents. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact agrees the tasks assigned to them with those responsible. Before commissioning, the missing information, who obtains it and the decision the result is intended to prepare are recorded clearly.
Planning and construction management
The specialist designers describe areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the planned sequence with the construction contractors and agreed specialist works. Results are assigned to the respective intervention. A technical plan change is communicated early enough for its effect on the survey task to be assessed before construction. Organisational construction stage boundaries remain distinguishable from technical survey boundaries.
Specialist company and competent bodies
The private explosive ordnance specialist carries out the agreed investigation and documentation scope. Official requirements and decisions are clarified with the competent authorities concerned. The documents needed for a particular procedure depend on the location and project. The technical report describes the specialist service performed; its conclusions are not presented unchecked as general authorisation for further groundworks or as an authority's decision.
Investigation task
Which specialist task comes next?
Read existing analyses against each measure
Assign aerial photograph analyses and technical results to the planned paths, crossings and working areas. Keep different analysis statuses identifiable. Earlier information may require further assessment without already defining the suitable method for every measure. Describe the next technical task from existing findings and the specific intervention. If assessment identifies further work needed, define the clearance objective and geographical scope for the agreed area. An area clearance is coordinated with the actual construction stage, access and applicable requirements.
Assess historical documentsAccount for construction stage and access
Plan the investigation for the actual conditions before the proposed intervention. Vegetation, installations, water levels and access may matter. Coordinate necessary preparatory works with their own prerequisites. A drawing of the completed installation cannot fully describe conditions during investigation.
Compare investigation methodsProject types
Plan related measures with distinct ground interventions
A path is widened
Widening may affect additional margins and connection areas. Describe these works with the proposed depth. Compare an older report for the existing path with the new geometry. The same project description does not establish agreement. Include preparation of site access where it requires groundworks of its own.
Specialist services and investigation tasks
A culvert is replaced
The structure may also require open working areas, access and connections. The investigation needs the areas actually affected. A switch from open-cut to trenchless construction may change the intervention. Include this change in technical coordination before work starts. A planning procedure’s boundary does not adequately define each ground intervention.
Provide specialist supervision of excavation
Several measures are carried out at different times
A joint schedule of measures may include works starting at different times. Assign existing reports and outstanding questions to each measure. Define the results needed first according to the actual construction sequence. Do not transfer a completed investigation for one section to the next. Keep their respective limitations visible in joint project coordination.
Coordinate the sequence and tasksPreparation
Prepare the scope and commission together
Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work
First establish which decision the commission needs to support. Is the task an initial assessment of existing documents, an investigation of a specific area or examination of an anomaly that has already been assessed? These tasks require different evidence. A general wish for safety does not define an investigation that can be carried out. The enquiry therefore specifies the groundworks, location, depth and available findings. Suitable specialist work and the required reporting are then agreed on that basis.
When acquiring a project area, assign existing information and specialist reports to the exact property and proposed use. A shared route design may cover several areas at different stages. Mark construction phases, path connections, crossings and temporary working areas on the drawing. Retain positions and depths for individual borehole locations; compare the changed task if they move. Geotechnical results and ordnance findings retain their respective investigation purposes. The commission identifies outstanding questions and results needed for the next decision. The designers and specialist contractor agree which existing findings can be used and what further work is necessary.
Define the specialist taskCoordinate preparatory work with the investigation
Clarify access and measurement conditions before the date. This may involve areas to be kept clear, available utility information and coordination with other trades. The chosen method and site determine the preparatory works actually needed. Do not independently alter the surface or undertake additional ground interventions merely to prepare for measurements. Agree their sequence with technical planners and responsible parties. For a path or culvert, describe investigation access against the construction method actually proposed. Open working space may affect different areas from a trenchless crossing. State when access routes, margins and set-up areas are accessible and who coordinates their provision. For works near watercourses, consider water level, ground conditions and known installations as investigation conditions. Describe land-based and any necessary underwater tasks separately. For investigation alongside construction too, agree the working sequence, investigation sections and communication of findings with the contractors beforehand. Suitability of the approach remains tied to the agreed task.
Clarify preparatory work in the programmeAgree a clear scope and schedule
A reliable sequence distinguishes work whose technical prerequisites are already clarified from prerequisites still outstanding. Account for partly accessible areas in the commission. Allow time in the construction sequence for results handover and assessment too. Agree costs and dates for the specific scope of services. Coordination connects the described scope with access, records, execution conditions and the date a decision is needed.
Costs and scheduling depend on the size and geometry of areas to be covered, proposed depths, suitable methods and possible interference. Where needed, historical research, preparatory access and clarification of findings also matter.
A geographically connected scheme may require several investigation commissions at different times. Record the results needed before the first intervention and areas to be addressed later. Agree changes in construction method or area with the client. For further commissioning, describe the tasks actually outstanding and results documentation needed traceably.
Discuss the scope and scheduleAreas for investigation
Record paths, culverts and working areas
01
Path structure and margins
For new or altered paths, describe groundworks along the margins too. A line on an overview is insufficient. Construction records must show widening and side connections.
02
Crossings and culverts
A culvert needs its installation position and open ground areas required defined. If the construction method for a crossing changes, check whether investigation requirements change too. The structure’s name alone does not describe the earthworks.
03
Earthworks near watercourses
Identify planned interventions on banks, slopes and adjoining areas with the elevations affected. Method selection must also consider water levels, access and ground conditions. Clarify separately whether the task needs a particular measurement method or underwater works and whether these are possible.
04
Site access routes and set-up areas
Temporary access or a set-up area may require earthworks too. Describe how these areas are to be created. Their investigation requirements depend on the proposed interventions.
Project documents
Documents that establish the next step
Use consistent measure identifiers
Use the same identifiers in the design, investigation commission and results overview. Site management can then identify the right records. Document the relationship if measures are split or renamed. Identifiers help orientation; the corresponding maps and descriptions still determine the actual scope. Link each measure identifier to the current site and detail drawings. For longer routes, identify sections and required intervention depths unambiguously. Assign an investigation report with the areas actually covered and its drawings. After clearance work, the clearance record identifies sections worked, actual clearance scope and results under the corresponding measure identifier. If boundaries move or areas are added, keep it clear which previous findings can still be used. Even with phased handover, designers and site management should be able to find complete records for their working area. Record a changed name with the earlier identifier and drawing revision date.
Track subsidiary conditions as separate tasks
Include a requirement from a planning decision in further design with its exact wording and project reference. Record the result needed and who will obtain it. Assess a later investigation using its complete records. The planning decision alone does not establish a completed investigation step. For each outstanding requirement, record the affected measure, responsible contact and findings needed. Pass on existing official letters in full with their dates and appendices. After commissioned interpretation or investigation, compare the result with this task. Relate the evidence available to the current drawing and proposed intervention. If further areas, other depths or additional preparatory works have been added, clarify the work still needed before the affected construction. The subsequent site management team receives this status with the corresponding reports and site plans.
Construction sequence
Coordinate investigation and construction sections
Before preparatory access routes and set-up areas
The first ground intervention may already be needed for site establishment. Include these areas with positions and depths in preparation. Clarify the results needed before this step. The later main works date is not an adequate timing requirement if the ground is to be affected earlier.
When watercourse works or crossings change
Compare changed construction methods or relocated culverts with existing investigation boundaries. Include new working areas in the same comparison. Technical planning identifies findings that remain applicable and supplements needed. Site management receives the updated assignment before the changed works start.
Method selection
Select methods according to the task and survey conditions
Historical records and aerial photographs
Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric survey
Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic methods
Electromagnetic investigations can be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. Their suitability must be explained for the task, rather than inferred simply from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the findings required must also be considered. Results are documented with their location and survey conditions. The specialist assessment determines whether a supplementary method is needed; this remains a project-specific decision.
Understand electromagnetic surveyingGround-penetrating radar
Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically ordnance, and an area with no apparent anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. The specialist interpretation and its limits are documented with the instruction. A survey for another purpose is not adopted without checking as ordnance evidence.
GPR and limitationsDeep-ground and downhole surveys
For deeper groundworks, it may be necessary to establish whether a surface investigation can provide the required findings or another approach is needed. Preparation includes the location, depth, borehole layout and existing services. Creating access for the investigation must also be properly planned by specialists. A general depth figure or standard grid cannot replace that work. Findings remain limited to the areas actually investigated and the method used.
Prepare deep interventionsSurvey during construction
If a necessary preliminary investigation cannot be completed, the specialists assess whether a planned approach during construction is suitable. This includes coordinated investigation, interpretation and communication of findings within the intended work sequence. Visual observation of excavated material is not an interchangeable substitute for a necessary survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist work will take place, how new findings will be handled and which areas remain unresolved.
Agree the approach during constructionTechnical assessment
Check existing findings and measurement conditions
Available documents
Assign existing records including a historical aerial-photo analysis to individual construction areas. Missing information and areas not yet investigated must remain identifiable. A planning procedure’s boundary is not automatically an investigation boundary.
Condition of the area
For a surface survey the investigation objective and condition of the area at measurement time are decisive. A plan of the future landscape does not describe those conditions. Agree necessary preparatory works and limitations before measurements.
Work sequence
The clearance plan describes the investigation task and sequence of works. If an area cannot initially be investigated, define the next steps on technical grounds. According to the DGUV, visual observation during earthworks alone does not replace suitable ordnance clearance.
Next steps
Coordinate ordnance investigation with the construction sequence
Identify groundworks for each measure
List proposed measures with their identifiers and associated groundworks. Identify missing information. General terms such as path construction or watercourse development are insufficient for an investigation commission. Use these details to coordinate the initial project enquiry. Review existing ordnance reports and official information for drawing revision, areas and depths covered and outstanding questions about today’s measures.
Assemble drawings and intervention depths
Assemble the overview, relevant detail drawings and proposed intervention depths. Keep unresolved positions or construction methods identifiable. Coordinate the investigation against this design revision. If evidence is insufficient for an outstanding historical question, carry out the necessary research or aerial photograph analysis. Relate findings to the present positions of the affected measures and further investigation planning.
Clarify responsibilities and handovers
Clarify prerequisites needed before each ground intervention and who receives results. Coordinate the investigation commission with construction planning and responsible authorities. An ordnance report does not replace assessments by other disciplines. On this basis, the specialist contractor defines a suitable method for the investigation objective, depth, ground conditions and interference. Describe prerequisites, access and results needed for each section.
Actually investigate the construction area
The commissioned investigation is carried out using the defined method in the accessible agreed areas. Specialists collect the measurement or investigation data needed for the task and record spatial references, execution conditions and areas not investigated. Departures from the design are agreed before the affected work continues.
Assess data and findings
The data and findings recorded are interpreted by specialists against the investigation objective, method used and possible interference. Anomalies and limitations are assigned to the actual investigation area. If a finding needs further clarification, the area concerned and suitable further approach are agreed with the responsible parties.
Report design changes before construction starts
If, for example, a culvert is to be installed elsewhere or a working area enlarged, report the changed design before the affected earthworks. This enables a check of whether existing investigation results cover the new scope or require supplements. Document investigations carried out and their technical assessment in a report with positional references and necessary drawings. The client and responsible project teams compare this status with the next measure and agree further work needed and use of the results.
Documentation
Hand over reports with measure identifiers and site plans
Findings and their scope
Identify in the results documentation which construction areas were investigated to what extent and where questions remain. Measure identifiers and site plans help designers and site management relate the records. Account for the report’s limitations in the construction sequence too. Record when the investigation took place, the construction stage and method used for the agreed task. Assign measurement data and findings to actual positions and the required elevation datum. For areas with technical limitations, describe what was established and which question remains unresolved. Where methods or dates differ, distinguish sections traceably. Technical assessment identifies evidence used and relevant interference. Before the next groundworks, compare these details with proposed position, depth and construction method. Supplementary investigations address the information requirements determined by that comparison.
Project responsibilities
The BFR Ordnance Clearance guidelines provide a federal framework for technical planning and documentation. Outside that scope, they offer technical guidance rather than a general requirement for every project. Municipalities, the KBD and commissioned specialist contractors retain separate tasks in Lower Saxony; a path and watercourse plan does not replace site-specific clarification.
Working approach
How FONTANA-EOD works
Document the agreed specialist service clearly
We assess the planned groundworks against the available documents and their design revision. Before attending site, we agree with you what needs to be investigated, which areas are accessible and what findings are required. If the design or site conditions change, we check whether the agreed scope remains appropriate. The report states what was actually investigated and the limits of the findings. This allows designers and site management to see which findings they can use and where questions remain.
Discuss the investigation taskThe task before the equipment
We first establish the investigation objective: which question must it answer? We then select a technically suitable method. The availability of a particular device or experience on a similar neighbouring site is not enough to justify the choice of method on its own.
Keep limitations visible
Inaccessible areas and limited conclusions are identified. They do not disappear into a total area figure. Designers and site management can then decide specifically which areas still need attention and when a suitable survey becomes possible.
Clarify changes before intervening in the ground
A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with previous results. A familiar project name does not replace this comparison. Feedback is provided before the affected work so that an outstanding question can be included in the sequence.
Hand over the report and plan together
The technical conclusion remains connected to its location references and appendices. A brief summary helps orientation but does not replace the documented survey scope. This basis is retained even if site management or contractors change.
Understand the results
Use technical statements for the next decision
Track the planning procedure and investigation separately
A planning decision may require further technical steps. The subsequent investigation report identifies what was actually performed. Read both documents together without equating their purposes. Keep outstanding requirements visible in the programme until the necessary results for the specific project are available.
Understand investigation reports and their limitationsDescribe land-based works clearly
An intervention beside a watercourse may contain land-based and water-related parts. Draw their working areas and conditions. Clarify the appropriate specialist services separately for underwater works actually required. Do not extend a land-based investigation to another intervention merely because it is nearby.
Understand the service scopeDesign and findings
Documents for the next construction decision
Historical evidence and the current design
Aerial photograph interpretation is related to the actual groundworks. Its purpose and geographical scope remain distinct from a technical investigation of the ground as it is today.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentSpecialist reports for site management
The findings, their locations and limitations are handed over together. This makes clear to those carrying out the work which area has been investigated and which task remains outstanding.
Assess investigation reports
Further technical topics
Further technical information for your project
Determine the specialist service from the planned groundworks
Historical assessment, technical investigation and follow-on work answer different questions. In your enquiry, identify existing evidence and the findings needed before the next groundworks.
Compare servicesCoordinate the project sequence with everyone involved
Preparation connects the commission, site work and handover of findings. Changes to the project can then be incorporated into technical coordination in good time.
Process and documentationQuestions from planning
Ordnance assessment for path and watercourse works
Do investigation results also apply to other locations in the administrative district?
No. Results apply to the documented investigation areas and tasks at the respective site. Belonging to the same administrative district does not allow transfer to other properties or construction projects.
Which details are needed for path construction?
Provide the proposed groundworks with their positions, area and intervention depths, and existing ordnance findings. Describe relevant margins, crossings and preparatory works too. A path identifier or simple line alone is insufficient to define this scope.
Must all areas within a planning procedure be investigated in the same way?
Requirements do not follow solely from the procedure’s boundary. Specific interventions, existing findings and technical requirements are decisive. Different measures may therefore entail different investigation tasks; justify the decision traceably in each case.
Are works beside a watercourse automatically underwater works?
No. Works on banks, slopes and adjoining land are not necessarily underwater works. Conditions at the intervention location determine which investigation method is possible and suitable. Clarify and agree any necessary underwater services separately.
What should happen if a suspicious object is found during groundworks?
Stop the affected work and leave the object undisturbed. Move away, warn others and notify the police immediately on 110. Follow official instructions and do not attempt your own investigation, handling or transport.
Is a schedule of measures sufficient without detailed drawings?
It helps identify the works but often does not fully describe ground interventions. Include position, area required, depth and relevant construction methods. Identify unresolved information before defining the investigation commission.
How are requirements in a planning decision followed up?
Assign them to the specific project and results needed. Check subsequent reports for the requirement and area they actually address. The existence of a planning decision alone does not establish that an investigation step has been carried out.
What affects costs and scheduling for several measures?
The groundworks sequence, results needed and access to each area determine coordination. Include preparatory earthworks too. A joint programme keeps differing investigation statuses traceably separate. Areas, depths, necessary methods, interference, additional research and preparatory works also affect the work involved. Agree costs and dates against the commissioned scope of services and results needed for it.
Project enquiry
Discuss a path and watercourse project
Identify measures with their details
Send the overview, measure identifiers and relevant detail drawings with areas and depths. Include existing ordnance records and applicable requirements from the planning procedure.
Identify the first groundworks
State which preparatory and main measures will take place first. Identify access, contacts and construction methods still unresolved. The next technical step can then be assigned in good time.
Project process
Project processSurveying methods
Surveying methodsUnderstand regional responsibilities
Understand regional responsibilitiesPrepare the technical investigation
Prepare the technical investigationClarify further investigation of findings
Clarify further investigation of findingsDefine the construction task and application
Define the construction task and application
Have your project assessed
Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.
FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.
