Schematic map labelled Köln, beside a tablet, hard hat, pen and notebook.

Explosive ordnance assessment in the Cologne administrative district

If a utility or construction project crosses several municipalities, each work section needs clear allocation. Which office should be contacted, which plan does it hold and which area does a response cover? FONTANA-EOD helps clients, design consultancies and site management with specialist preparation of such projects in the Cologne administrative district.

Municipalities

Assign enquiries to the correct area.

Sections

Show boundaries and transitions on the plan.

Coordination

Compare responses using the same plan revision.

Discuss the project's technical requirementsExplosive ordnance assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia
Assess the construction project

Coordinate several municipalities with clearly allocated subareas

For projects in the Cologne administrative district, the municipalities and intervention areas concerned are allocated clearly. We link existing knowledge to the respective plan sections. A shared project overview supports coordination while municipal applications, specialist results and outstanding questions remain separately traceable.

Documented location references

Reference projects in the Cologne administrative district

Select a project location on the map or in the location list. The associated entries lead to the protected reference overview.

31 locations · 193 associated reference entries

Reference projects in the Cologne administrative districtGeographical outline with confirmed location references from the project records. No precise ordnance find or site coordinates. Leverkusen – 6 reference entriesAachen – 27 reference entriesWesseling – 2 reference entriesTroisdorf – 7 reference entriesWindeck – 1 reference entryHückelhoven – 1 reference entryErftstadt – 1 reference entryKöln – 101 reference entriesKönigswinter – 1 reference entryBonn – 14 reference entriesSiegburg – 1 reference entryHürth – 5 reference entriesRösrath – 2 reference entriesSankt Augustin – 4 reference entriesRadevormwald – 1 reference entryEschweiler – 1 reference entryBergisch Gladbach – 1 reference entryHangelar – 7 reference entriesGrefrath – 2 reference entriesMödrath – 2 reference entriesGodorf – 1 reference entryImmendorf – 1 reference entryDerkum – 1 reference entrySechtem – 1 reference entryBad Honnef – 1 reference entryMechernich – 1 reference entryErkelenz – 2 reference entriesLinnich – 1 reference entryRheinbach – 1 reference entryWegberg – 1 reference entryHennef (Sieg) – 1 reference entry

The points indicate place references of documented projects, not precise ordnance find or construction site coordinates. Several entries may belong to one project. References without a reliable place assignment are available in the complete reference overview.

Map bases: © BKG (2026), VG250 / GN250, Data licence Germany – attribution 2.0. Area outline projected for display. Selection and project assignment: FONTANA-EOD.

Project references

Selected project examples

Project site

Connect the site with the specific construction task

Schematic map with the North Rhine-Westphalia coat of arms, beside a tablet, safety helmet and notebook.

Identify municipal contacts in the Cologne administrative district

The explosive ordnance disposal service of the Düsseldorf district government also serves the Cologne administrative district. Its current guidance requires separate applications for the areas concerned in each municipality where a project spans several municipalities. Local contacts must be checked: for Aachen, the FAQ identifies the building administration, for example. Shared project planning keeps applications, responses and results traceably together for each section. The Cologne administrative district is an administrative area in North Rhine-Westphalia. For allocation, actual project locations and work areas are identified on the shared plan. The municipal application area and the ground volume technically requiring investigation are recorded separately and compared. When changes occur near a boundary, it is clarified which further partial enquiries or responses are affected. Responsible bodies and current plan revisions remain traceable for each section.

Information on explosive ordnance surveying in Eschweiler, Bonn, Leverkusen, Bergisch Gladbach, Troisdorf, Kerpen, Pulheim, Hürth and Bergheim helps you prepare your project enquiry. The documents and proposed ground interventions on the particular property are decisive.

North Rhine-Westphalia
Local context

An administrative district includes different local procedures

Consider the whole administrative district

The Cologne administrative district extends beyond the City of Cologne; its area includes Aachen and Bonn, among other places. The state explosive ordnance disposal service at the Düsseldorf district government operates in the Cologne and Düsseldorf administrative districts. Hazard prevention remains the responsibility of local regulatory authorities.

The Bergheim planning explanatory statement for Glessener Mühlenhof describes indications of ground fighting during the Second World War for subareas there. Such historical findings are related to the respective areas concerned. For a cross-municipality project, the available information and subsequent ground changes may differ between sections. Regional history therefore does not establish a uniform investigation status. The specific knowledge, proposed depths and actual survey conditions of each work area are assessed for the next construction task.

Assign applications to the respective municipalities concerned

For aerial photograph enquiries concerning properties in several municipalities, the Düsseldorf district government requires each municipality concerned to be approached separately for its subarea. For project organisation, this means that a shared overview plan is helpful but does not replace clear allocation of individual enquiries and responses. A regional project name alone does not identify a work area clarified through the official procedure.

Working together

Allocate tasks within the construction project

Client and operator

The client describes the project and provides the available project documents. The operator adds requirements relating to use, access and scheduling. The participants agree their respective tasks and decision-making responsibilities. A coordinating contact person brings the project information together. Before an appointment, it is recorded clearly which information is missing, who will obtain it and which decision the result is intended to support.

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 company carries out the agreed permissible investigation and documentation scope. Authority requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent bodies. The documents needed for a specific procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report documents the specialist service performed, including areas, depths and limits of its conclusions. Its applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific intervention.

Local regulatory authorities and the state explosive ordnance disposal service perform official tasks. The service at the Düsseldorf district government is responsible for the Cologne and Düsseldorf administrative districts. The respective municipal contact is established using the project location and local guidance. Shared project management can coordinate documents and responses; the responsibilities of the individual bodies remain unchanged. Private specialist services are agreed with their specific permissible scope.

Investigation task

Which specialist task comes next?

Define the investigation question for each subarea

A project crossing several municipalities may encounter different former uses and ground conditions. Existing knowledge is therefore compared section by section with the proposed intervention. The appropriate method follows the respective question. A single project organisation does not establish an identical method throughout and does not replace assessment of local limitations.

Assess historical documents

Connect specialist coordination with procedural responsibilities

Private specialist services are clearly distinguished from state and municipal tasks. The prerequisites of the NRW procedure and permissions required are checked before agreement. A coordinating contact can bring information together. They replace neither local responsibility nor the technical decision on the necessary scope of a specific investigation.

Compare investigation methods
Project types

Divide a shared project into clear municipal sections

Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Connect overview and detailed plans

An overall plan shows the project's route and the municipal areas concerned. Detailed plans describe the respective interventions with the information required. Both levels must correspond. An overview helps coordination but does not replace an accurate depiction of the section for which a municipality or investigation report is to provide specific findings.

Give municipal sections traceable names and use these in the associated detailed plans. A changed overall route is linked to the extracts concerned. Identify the relevant plan revision for each enquiry. Project management can then see which document was submitted to which office and the work areas covered by each response. For technical investigation, the ground volumes actually proposed and their site conditions remain decisive as well.

Coordinate the sequence and tasks
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Check transitions between sections too

At municipal boundaries, submitted areas and available results are compared with one another. A change of responsibility must not create an unnoticed spatial gap in the project overview. Transitions therefore receive a clear designation. Passing a result to another office does not, by itself, extend the area investigated.

Show pits, connections and working spaces on both sides of a transition. Different depths are stated with their respective elevation reference. Existing results plans are compared with this route. Edge areas not clearly allocated remain identifiable as outstanding tasks. Any additional work required is related to the specific findings lacking and coordinated within its permissible scope. Investigations and protective measures required are clarified before preparatory or further ground interventions; an administrative boundary does not replace this technical comparison.

Document findings and their limitations
Illustration: two people with a tablet beside a drawing table and a survey trolley on a construction site.

Allocate shared ancillary areas correctly

Access routes, work areas or additional connections may lie outside the main route section. Assign these groundworks to the municipality actually concerned. Their inclusion remains visible in the overall overview. A shared project name is insufficient where different subareas are processed through different local procedures with their own plan revisions.

Show additional storage and work areas with the ground changes actually proposed there. Simply using existing paved areas is distinguished from areas requiring new excavation. If an ancillary area lies in another municipality, it is given a traceable link to the appropriate partial enquiry. Available investigation results are assigned to their actual area and depth scope. Information still required remains identifiable in the shared overview so that it can be clarified specifically at the next coordination stage.

Specialist services and investigation tasks
Preparation

Prepare the scope and commission together

Historical preliminary assessment, technical investigation and specialist work during construction answer different project questions. The permissible private activity under the specific North Rhine-Westphalia procedure is clarified with the information objective and necessary authority involvement before an agreement.

Establish what needs to be known before commissioning the work

For a cross-municipality project, proposed groundworks are shown on a shared plan with their local subareas. Existing explosive ordnance documents are assigned to the respective area and work status. This allows it to be established whether documents need interpretation, further ground volumes need investigation or assessed findings need further work. The permissible commissioned specialist service and required results receive this scope. Municipal enquiries and technical investigation are linked without equating their different spatial functions. Findings still required for the first construction section remain identifiable.

Define the specialist task

Coordinate preparatory work with the investigation

Before work is carried out, actual survey access, utility information and interfaces with other trades are clarified for each work area. Preparatory work required depends on the method and site; a shared project name does not confirm uniform site conditions. Additional opening-up work or other interventions to create investigation access are prepared by specialists and are not undertaken independently. Project organisation keeps agreed prerequisites together with the responsible parties. At transitions between subareas, it is checked whether the ground volume technically required is fully described and considered.

Clarify preparatory work in the programme

Agree a clear scope and schedule

The scope of private specialist work is agreed using the project documents, actual execution conditions and permissible activity. Necessary preparatory works, investigation, evaluation and documentation are described transparently. Costs and dates are related to these prerequisites and the required coordination. Changes to the construction plans are checked against the agreed contract before work is extended.

Discuss the scope and schedule
Tasks at the site

Consider municipal boundaries in project planning

01

Maintain a shared overview sheet

Show the complete route and mark the individual municipal areas on it. Add the work areas, pits and depths actually proposed. The overview plan should help coordination without replacing detailed plans. For each enquiry, the extract submitted must remain identifiable.

02

Show transitions in full

A utility trench does not necessarily end at a municipal boundary. Therefore draw neighbouring work areas so that their connection is traceable. Also compare the boundaries of existing investigations. A small intermediate area must not be overlooked merely because two parties each assume it falls within the other's responsibility.

03

Record contacts for each subproject

Identify the responsible local office using current municipal guidance. Keep its responses with the corresponding work section. Whoever coordinates the overall plans should also pass changes to all parties affected. A central project contact can undertake this task but does not replace official responsibility.

04

Assign ancillary areas to the appropriate enquiry

Also record proposed groundworks for temporary storage, access routes or technical ancillary installations insofar as they belong to the project. Such areas may lie outside the actual utility route. Describe their purpose and proposed depth separately. An investigation along the utility does not automatically cover every place later used for the construction site.

Project documents

Documents that establish the next step

Distinguish procedural status from technical results

The overview records submitted applications, responses and completed investigations with their respective purposes. An application received is not yet a result. For each subarea, available findings and outstanding questions remain identifiable. Complete reports and appendices are retained alongside this overview and supplied for construction. After clearance work, the clearance record with its scope, results and limits of findings supplements these documents for the municipal subarea actually addressed and the associated plan revision.

The project overview refers to these complete documents and their status. A newly proposed intervention is compared with the areas and depths actually investigated. Earlier reference elevations remain assigned to the ground surface relevant at the time. Changes in construction and ground conditions are considered when assessing applicability.

Link changes to all sections concerned

If a route is relocated or a work area added, the municipal sections concerned are allocated again. Relevant responses receive a clear reference to the revised plan. Previous results are retained with their limitations. Shared documentation helps identify different statuses before individual construction lots continue to be planned on unsuitable assumptions.

Identify municipal subareas additionally affected by a plan change. The respective responsible recipients receive the version relevant to their area. Superseded documents remain identifiable as such. A specialist addition receives a traceable link to previous results. Unchanged areas retain their documented scope and recorded limitations. Outstanding tasks are passed to the parties responsible for the next construction section before further groundworks rely on those results.

Construction sequence

Coordinate investigation and construction sections

Compare municipal sections before submission

Compile an overall overview and suitable partial plans. Each application receives its associated area and identifiable plan revision. Also check ancillary areas and transitions. Further processing can then build on the correct section while project management retains an overview of the project context and possible outstanding interfaces.

Before submission, check that detailed plans use the same section names and reference elevations as the overall overview. Identify the binding version and any variant still open. Existing reports are supplied with their original purpose and the area actually addressed. Missing appendices are requested from the issuer. Specialist coordination can thus distinguish which findings are already usable and which additional work is still needed for the areas and depths now proposed.

Coordinate the construction phase with us

Hand over results before changing construction lots

The next construction phase receives complete documents for its actual proposed interventions. Results for neighbouring sections are adopted only within their documented scope of validity. Findings still lacking remain visible in the overview. Organisational completion or an agreed date is not used as specialist evidence for a further section.

Identify recipients and the documents needed for their work areas. If site management changes, unresolved questions and missing responses are also handed over. An additional connecting pit or greater depth is identified on the new plan. Specialist planning assesses the effect on the proposed investigation and its findings. Necessary additions are coordinated for the areas concerned; the construction team receives a traceable allocation between its task and the knowledge available.

Coordinate the construction phase with us
Method selection

Select methods according to the task and survey conditions

Historical records and aerial photographs

Historical aerial photograph analysis and other earlier records help establish the spatial basis of a suspected hazard. Images, interpretive capability and area boundaries are related to the respective groundworks. An absence of visible findings is not a technical investigation of the present-day ground. Other existing knowledge is incorporated. In a longer project, image dates and supplementary records may differ by section. An indication from local planning is therefore not extended to the whole administrative district or complete route. Transitions between the areas actually considered remain traceable.

Understand aerial photograph assessment

Magnetometric survey

Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Suitability is assessed in relation to expected objects, ground conditions and the ground volume requiring investigation. Utilities, fences and existing structures can affect interpretation. Results are assigned to the actual work sections; the same method alone does not confirm matching survey conditions. Signal strength alone does not identify explosive ordnance. Surveying, assessment and further clarification are planned as specialist tasks. Magnetometry measures the magnetic field passively. The magnetic effect of the object sought is decisive; electrical conductivity alone does not establish its detectability by this method.

Understand the scope of magnetometry

Electromagnetic methods

Electromagnetic investigations may be suitable for certain metallic target objects and site conditions. Selection considers the findings required, accessible survey areas and interfering installations, rather than equipment availability alone. Results are documented with their location and actual investigation conditions. Any additional work required follows from assessment of the respective work area and transitions to neighbouring subareas. Time-domain electromagnetic methods, TDEM for short, assess the electromagnetic response of conductive objects over time. The method is selected according to the investigation objective and actual survey conditions.

Understand electromagnetic surveying

Ground-penetrating radar

Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture and installations affect interpretability. A reflection is not automatically explosive ordnance; an area without anomalies does not confirm any arbitrary depth. Specialist interpretation and limitations are documented with the commission. Existing records from different sections are read according to purpose, location and coverage. Presenting them together on the project plan does not replace comparison of these underlying conditions. A new task at a section transition is linked to the findings actually available.

GPR and limitations

Deep-ground and downhole surveys

For deeper interventions, it may be necessary to assess whether investigation from the surface can provide the findings required or whether another approach is needed. Positions, depths, reference elevations, borehole layouts and known utilities are prepared for this purpose. Creation of suitable investigation access is also planned by specialists. A standard grid or general depth figure does not replace this task. Elevation and location information is linked traceably at transitions between plan sections. The municipal allocation of an application does not, by itself, confirm technical findings for a ground volume extending beyond that subarea.

Prepare deep interventions

Survey during construction

If a necessary advance investigation cannot be completed in full, it is assessed whether a specialist-planned approach accompanying construction is suitable. Investigation, interpretation and communication of findings are linked to the groundworks actually proposed. Visual observation of excavated material alone does not replace a necessary survey. Site management receives the allocation of specialist work and outstanding areas to the work sequence. When the construction section or company changes, results and remaining tasks are handed over together. The report retains the municipal allocation and ground volume actually addressed.

Agree the approach during construction
Technical assessment

Plan together, assess results by section

Bring preliminary information together

A historical aerial photograph analysis can provide important indications for further planning. Assign each document to its scope of validity and retain text and maps together. Different work statuses should remain identifiable. A result from a section already addressed cannot be transferred to a neighbouring area without assessment.

If assessment of existing documents reveals outstanding historical questions, the research required is directed at them. Any required official aerial photograph analysis is arranged through the respective municipal contact within the local procedure and undertaken by the responsible state service. Findings are compared with present-day intervention areas and subsequent ground changes. Different results for neighbouring sections remain distinguishable. Technical investigation considers the actual survey conditions on the respective area concerned.

Describe investigation tasks appropriately

The need for surveying depends on existing knowledge, the intervention and investigation conditions. A continuous construction project therefore need not require the same survey task everywhere. Identify outstanding questions for each section and coordinate necessary measures on technical grounds. A shared tender alone does not establish identical technical work for all subareas. Method selection considers the investigation objective, intervention depth, ground structure, utilities, interfering objects and actual survey feasibility. Necessary additions are coordinated for the specific task within its permissible scope.

Connect the construction sequence with evidence

Where a clearance plan is required, it should show the sequence of specialist measures and proposed construction work. With separate lots, it is particularly important to establish which results must be available before the next lot begins. A planned handover requires appropriate evidence; a proposed start date is not itself such evidence. The results documentation records the work status actually achieved.

A permissible specialist task accompanying construction is agreed for the work areas concerned and existing knowledge. Work carried out, surveys and observations are allocated spatially. Uninvestigated areas and necessary follow-on investigations remain identified. The technical report documents the service carried out, its assessment and limits of findings. Visual observation alone is not an equivalent substitute for proper specialist explosive ordnance clearance accompanying construction. For subsequent sections, applicability of the results is checked against the specific groundworks.

Next steps

Compile responses for site management

01

File each submission traceably

Record the project, municipality concerned and submitted plan revision for an enquiry. Keep the complete documents. A later question can then be assigned to the correct extract. The overview should make original documents accessible without shortening or extending their findings. Initial contact provides the project, project locations and proposed ground interventions. Existing documents are checked for currency, spatial reference and gaps. Where historical knowledge is lacking, the research required is undertaken; any required official aerial photograph analysis is arranged within the local procedure through the respective municipal contact with the responsible state service and carried out by that service.

02

Update plan changes at every office concerned

If the route changes near a municipal boundary, several partial enquiries may be affected. Check which drawings and responses still fit the new location. Present the change to the responsible parties. An unchanged project title says nothing about whether the work areas previously considered still match. The appropriate investigation method is selected using the objective, intervention depth, ground structure, existing utilities, interfering objects and survey conditions. Permissible commissioning and outstanding prerequisites for execution are coordinated with the responsible parties.

03

Identify the status of each construction section

Distinguish submitted documents, specialist assessments and investigations already carried out. A submitted application must not appear as a completed result in the construction overview. Also document conditions for the next work step. This enables focused clarification of what is still missing before the approaching ground intervention.

04

Perform the agreed investigation

The survey or investigation during construction appointed under North Rhine-Westphalia's requirements is carried out in the agreed areas and points. Measurement data and observations receive traceable location and elevation references. Uninvestigated areas, restricted access and relevant interference are recorded.

05

Assess survey data and findings

The collected data and findings are evaluated against the investigation objective. The technical assessment considers interference, the areas reached and remaining limits of the conclusions. It establishes which further investigation or work is needed for the planned groundworks.

06

Bring the report and plan appendices together

The report and plan attachments document the specialist works performed and their assessment. Worked areas, investigation depths, the relevant ground surface and limitations remain assigned. Reused older results and newly investigated areas are recorded distinctly. The agreed recipients receive the related documents together.

07

Hand evidence to the next party

When designers or site management change, reports, maps and official conditions are passed on together. Identify unresolved questions and areas outside the work completed so far. A collective notification for the overall project would be too imprecise where individual subareas have different statuses. The respective responsible parties use these documents to decide on additions or adjustments required for the next specific ground intervention.

Documentation

What the regional overview can provide

Findings and their scope

A project overview can show which documents belong to which section. It is not itself a substitute for specialist results or official decisions. Therefore retain original reports with their area, depth and method information. Limitations must remain identifiable for those carrying out the works even after documents have been consolidated.

Project responsibilities

FONTANA-EOD supports the agreed permissible specialist commission. Official decisions are made by the competent authorities. The technical report's findings remain bound to the documented specialist task, area, depth and recorded limitations; their applicability is checked against each subsequent intervention. The BFR Kampfmittelräumung provide guidance for technical planning and documentation. Their direct scope of application is federal properties. For other projects, the respective applicable local and statutory requirements are also assessed; the BFR do not form a uniform municipal procedural rule for them.

Working approach

How FONTANA-EOD works

Document the agreed specialist service clearly

FONTANA-EOD addresses the agreed specialist task for the described project subareas in the Cologne administrative district. Before work begins, accessible areas and results required are coordinated. Responses from local offices remain linked to their spatial reference. Changes to plans or site conditions are checked before the work concerned. The report documents the work actually carried out and its limitations. Shared project coordination can identify which findings exist for which construction section and where a task remains outstanding before further interventions.

Discuss the investigation task

The task before the equipment

Method selection starts with the knowledge lacking for the respective work area. Specialist planning considers existing results, the ground and actual conditions. Available equipment or work on another section does not suffice as the sole basis. Selection is justified for the ground volume concerned. An administrative boundary does not automatically require a different method; the technical prerequisites remain decisive. Shared planning keeps the selection and its scopes of validity traceably together.

Keep limitations visible

Inaccessible areas and areas with limited interpretability are identified with their actual boundaries. Site management can allocate outstanding specialist work and necessary additions to them. A general statement about the overall project does not replace this distinction. Planning and construction teams coordinate when a suitable investigation will be possible. At a subarea boundary, it is assessed which findings exist for the adjoining works. A fully answered municipal enquiry is not equated with a fully addressed technical investigation area.

Clarify changes before intervening in the ground

A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with existing results before the work concerned. Specialist planners receive the identifiable change from the previous plan revision. Their response and necessary additions are assigned to the ground volume concerned. If municipal area allocation changes as a result, coordination with the respective local offices is maintained. An unchanged regional project name does not, by itself, confirm an unchanged spatial commission.

Hand over the report and plan together

At handover, reports and associated plan appendices are supplied with the subarea, municipal allocation and work status identified. A shared overview may list usable findings and outstanding tasks. It does not replace the documented investigation scope of the individual specialist services. When designers, site management or companies change, responses from local offices and technical results remain distinguishable. The next construction phase receives the information important to its groundworks, including outstanding transitions between construction sections.

Understand the results

Use technical statements for the next decision

A project overview makes comparison easier

The overview links subareas, plan revisions and existing findings. It also shows missing documents and outstanding transitions. Its value lies in traceable allocation; original specialist reports remain decisive for the respective scope. A summary traffic-light indicator or programme does not replace their maps, limitations and specific description of results. In the SAT.1 NRW interview about Wahner Heide, Oliver Fontana explains the danger from explosive ordnance during a forest fire.

Understand investigation reports and their limitations

A municipal boundary is not an investigation boundary

The specialist investigation is documented with its actual spatial scope. Municipal responsibilities, by contrast, determine the respective procedure. These boundaries may follow different courses and must therefore be depicted traceably. For the next construction measure, what matters is whether the findings required actually cover the entire intervention area concerned.

Understand the service scope
Design and findings

Documents for the next construction decision

Illustration: aerial photographs and maps on two screens and printed on a desk.

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 assessment
Illustration: two people review plans and documents at a table beside a construction vehicle.

Specialist 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
Four people in orange high-visibility vests in front of two excavators on a construction site.
Person with a yellow survey cart on a footpath in front of a hedge.
Questions from planning

Questions about projects in the Cologne administrative district

Is the Cologne administrative district the same as the City of Cologne?

No. The administrative district is a larger administrative area that also includes Aachen and Bonn, among other places. The municipality and specific work area concerned are decisive for your construction project. Guidance for an individual city cannot be used as a uniform procedure for all municipalities.

What is the role of the Düsseldorf explosive ordnance disposal service?

It handles state explosive ordnance tasks in the Düsseldorf and Cologne administrative districts. The duties of local regulatory authorities must be distinguished from this. The respective municipal contact and its requirements must be established for the project.

Is one shared enquiry sufficient for several municipalities?

According to the Düsseldorf district government's FAQ, the municipalities concerned must be approached separately for aerial photograph enquiries, each with its subarea. Organise documents so that the overall project and individual extracts remain traceable.

Can evidence be transferred to the adjoining construction section?

Only insofar as its documented scope actually covers that area and the proposed intervention. Check maps, depths and limitations against the current construction plan. Spatial proximity or the same project name is insufficient for transfer.

What should I do about a suspicious find during the work?

Stop the affected work, leave the object untouched and unmoved, and move away. Neither touch nor move it, and keep others away. From a safe distance, immediately notify the police on 110; follow official instructions.

Which cost factors matter for several construction sections?

Effort depends on usable earlier documents, preparatory work and access required, area size or the number and depth of investigation points, the suitable method, survey conditions, interpretation and documentation. Identify the municipal sections concerned and documents still missing. Specialist services still required are offered for the specific outstanding task within their permissible scope.

How are gaps at municipal boundaries identified?

Submitted subareas and documented investigation boundaries are compared with the proposed construction work in a shared overview.

Does project coordination replace the local contact?

No. It brings information together and keeps responsibilities and plan revisions traceable. The local procedure and its respective requirements must still be observed.

Project enquiry

Prepare the first technical discussion

Allocate municipalities and subareas

Attach an overall overview and suitable detailed plans for the sections concerned. For a cross-municipality project, send an overview identifying the places, construction sections and existing responses. Add proposed groundworks and the current plan revision. Together, we can discuss the specialist tasks still requiring clarification and the documents needed for them. State project addresses or location descriptions, plan revision and, where applicable, file references of the partial procedures. The document overview identifies the respective purpose of existing findings. For specialist work, the proposed areas and depths and the results actually available are described. Outstanding variants and missing documents remain identifiable and can be coordinated specifically with the responsible parties.

Show different statuses

Identify responses, results and outstanding transitions. Show the associated work areas and intended recipients of results. Identify cadastral parcels, routes and borehole positions on the site plan; add known utility plans and existing aerial photograph analyses. State the current project status, proposed construction dates and existing official conditions. Explain the decision or specialist clarification you now need. Record known utilities, interfering objects and access limitations. Investigations and protective measures required are clarified before preparatory or further ground interventions. For area clearance or recovery tasks, the necessary scope and permissible commissioning are coordinated with the responsible authority. Additional information remains linked to the shared project status.

GPR on a construction site
Project enquiry

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.

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