Province of Noord-Holland: applying for an earth removal permit

The conditions for obtaining an excavation permit include:

• the earth removal fits within the environment plan, and
• the landowner has given permission for the earth removal.

This is how you apply for a permit:

• Go to the online Omgevingsloket (in Dutch). This is the service counter for environmental and planning permits.
• Do the permit check.
• You will be told whether you need to apply for a permit. You can do this right away.
• Log in.

In your application, you need to provide the following information:

• the type of work you want to carry out and the location (address)

• the volume and depth of the earth removal

• the type of material you are going to excavate

• the date on which you start the earth removal and the (estimated) duration

• address details and permission from the landowner

You can apply for an excavation permit from the provincial authorities. Are you carrying out excavation works in government waters? In that case, you need to apply for the excavation permit from the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The costs depend on the amount of material and the publication costs.

The time it takes for a decision on your permit application depends on the (potential) impact your company has on the environment. There are two possibilities:

• Standard procedure. The (potential) impact on the environment is low. Under the standard procedure, the provincial authorities make a decision within 8 weeks. However, if the provincial authorities deem it necessary, they can extend this period by a maximum of 6 weeks.
• Extensive procedure. The (potential) impact on the environment is high. Under the extensive procedure, stakeholders will be given the opportunity to respond to your plans. The provincial authorities sometimes also have to further investigate the impact on the environment. It takes an average of six months before the provincial authorities can take a final decision on your permit application.

Have you applied for a permit? If so, two procedures apply.

Standard procedure:

• If you do not agree with the decision by the provincial authorities on your application, you can object. You must do this within six weeks of the decision.
• Do you disagree with the decision after that? In that case, you can start an appeal through the courts within six weeks.

Extensive procedure:

• The provincial authorities will make the draft decision available for inspection for a period of six weeks.
• Stakeholders can respond to the draft decision by submitting a viewpoint.
• The provincial authorities will take a final decision after that.

Provided you have submitted a viewpoint, you can appeal against that decision in court.