Building Quality Assurance Act

You may not begin construction until you have submitted a complete notification. At least 4 weeks before construction begins, submit the construction notification through the Environment Counter:

• Go to "Apply.
• Under "Activities," select "Construction Activity.
• Choose "Construction Activity (Technical) Notification.

This is also where you indicate who your quality assurance provider is. Also provide the other information requested. Is any information missing? Then you must submit a new notification. Four weeks after submitting the notification, you may begin construction.

Two days before construction begins, you notify the Omgevingsloket. This is called information duty.

The quality assurance officer checks before and during construction that the building regulations are met. You will receive a certificate from the quality certifier if the building meets the building regulations.
Note: The municipality can also check whether the building regulations are met. It can also enforce if they are not. The quality assurance company cannot do this.

You may not use the structure until you have submitted a complete notification of completion. You should do this at least 2 weeks before you intend to use the building. This can be done via the environment counter. You will need the statement from the quality assurance company (step 4) (competent authority file).
The municipality will indicate whether your notification of completion has been accepted or rejected.

Kerkrade does not have generic soil policy but area-specific soil policy, the "multi-track policy. This not only deals with the application of soil, but also provides an assessment framework for zoning plans, new construction (homes and businesses) and soil remediation. The area-specific policy was adopted because of the occurrence of mine rock as a result of former coal mining. There are remediated built-up former mining sites subject to aftercare under the Soil Protection Act and Mine Rock Areas, established under the Soil Quality Decree.

Kerkrade has a Soil Quality Map and a Soil Management Memorandum, including for PFAS. These can be viewed and downloaded through the municipality's site.  

The bottom line is that in the area built up before about 1970 (Zone 1: Upper Ground Residential), the soil quality map does not provide sufficient assurance of soil quality. Locally, non-area-specific, strong soil contamination may be present, which may be an obstacle to planned new construction. Light soil contamination with lead may also occur, which exceeds the GGD Zuid Limburg's advisory values for planned use. This advice can be sent upon request.

In "Zone 2: Topsoil AW2000" the BKK is more reliable and, if the location according to Preliminary Investigation (NEN5725) is expected to have area-specific quality, an actual soil investigation can be omitted. This is elaborated in the Soil Management Memorandum.

Soil information can be requested from the municipality prior to new construction or soil testing. This includes; known soil investigations, fuel tanks and any operating history of a site.

Soil remediation and HBB sites.

Information on cases of serious soil contamination (Soil Protection Act) and sites from the historical soil database (HBB) can be found on the Soil Counter.

For further information contact the Environment and Building Department, tel 14 045.

Soil structure

Information on soil structure, geomorphology and groundwater in Kerkrade can be found on the DINOLoket and the BROloket There are a few topics of interest for geotechnical investigations and foundation methods.

Gravel deposits

Beneath the loess loam, deposits of Beegden (Maas gravel) are mostly present, consisting mainly of gravel and sand. Large natural stones, 1 to 2 m in diameter, may be present in these deposits.

Tectonic fractures

Along (some active) tectonic fractures and at the transition of two different Maasterraces, gravel deposits and bearing soil layers may be present at different depth levels. All this may affect the performance of soundings and the construction of a pile foundation.

Groundwater

Below in the stream and river valleys of, for example, Anstelerbeek, Anselderbeek, Strijthagerbeek and Worm, groundwater higher than 5 m-mv may be present and may be important for foundations, soil improvement or basement construction. The stream and river valleys can be found in the geomorphological Map in the BROloket

Mining areas

In Kerkrade, as a result of former coal mining, areas of mine rock are present. This is present in the form of embankments. These areas can be found in the Soil Counter.
For further information contact the Environment and Building Department, tel: 14 045.

The Municipality of Kerkrade is making a Soil Tax Map Explosive Remains of War available digitally. This Map indicates the places in Kerkrade where acts of war took place during the Second World War.
The fact that an area is indicated on the Map does not mean that there are actually explosives there; only that the possibility must be taken into account. This is important for safety when carrying out work in the ground, for example excavation work or soil drilling.

Based on the Soil Tax Map, all of Kerkrade is generally suspect for the presence of fanned artillery ammunition from 20 to 155 mm. Further locations with additional or lower levels of suspicion are shown on the Soil Tax Map.

Supplementary to the Soil Tax Map, a "preliminary investigation post-conflict period - supplement risk map municipality of Kerkrade" has also been carried out. This indicates for a number of areas whether and to what depth they are less or non-suspicious. This is because after World War II a lot of earthmoving or raising took place in these areas.

The 'Soil Tax Map' and 'Risk Map Supplement' are available for anyone to view

In addition to the Map , this page also provides more information and advice on work.

The Soil Tax Map Explosive Remnants of War (OO) indicates the locations in Kerkrade where acts of war took place during World War II, as a result of which unexploded explosives may still be present in the soil at those locations. This mainly concerns artillery (grenades), demolition ammunition (aerial bombs) and small-caliber ammunition (hand grenades). The Soil Contamination Map OO has been created so that anyone in Kerkrade can find out whether there is an increased chance of the presence of Explosive Remnants of War at a particular location. This is especially important for anyone performing work in the soil (e.g., soil testing, excavation, or soil drilling).

The Province of Limburg has an overview map showing all risk situations in the living environment. This Map provides information about risks in a certain geographical area in a clear and quick manner. It also shows the transport routes of hazardous materials. With this Map , you are aware of the risks in your neighborhood and can take any necessary measures when building or renovating your structure.          

As a result of (rail) traffic and/or industrial noise, your building may be subject to such noise levels that the preferred noise limit value is exceeded and the noise protection of your facade is insufficient. You must then apply for a higher noise limit value and/or take additional noise protection measures. An acoustic investigation into the noise levels and/or noise protection is necessary in these situations. On the page noise maps you can read more about this.