16

Part  A  -  General

2.4  Additional  standard  specifications  for  offshore  structures
The  “Standard  Ground  Investigations  -  Minimum  requirements  for  geotechnical  surveys  and
investigations  into  offshore  wind  energy  structures,  offshore  stations  and  power  cables”  in  its
current  version,  published  by  the  BSH,  represents  an  integral  part  of  this  code  of  practice.
The  environmental  impact  assessment  shall  be  drawn  up  using  a  project  description  for  the
common  pile  foundation  types  listed  in  the  application  based  on  the  verified  preliminary  draft.
In  the  case  of  new  foundation  types  or  foundation  types  not  yet  tested  in  the  German  EEZ,
further  documentation  may  be  required.
Planning  principle  5.3.2.9  set  down  in  the  Spatial  Offshore  Grid  Plan  (2K  criterion)  shall  be  observed. ­
  The  existing  standardised  calculation  method  was  included  on  the  BSH  Internet  page
as  an  addition  to  the  current  version  of  the  Standard  “Investigation  of  the  Impacts  of  Offshore
Wind  Turbines  on  the  Marine  Environment  (StUK)”.
Safety  and  precautionary  measures  are  defined  in  a  separate  regulation.  A  corresponding
standard  for  a  protection  and  safety  concept  may  be  incorporated.  Structural  requirements
resulting  from  the  provisions  set  down  in  the  German  Labor  Protection  Act  (ArbSchG)  incl.  the
German  Construction  Products  Act  {BauPG),  the  Product  Safety  Act  (ProdSG)  and  their  respective ­
  directives,  as  well  as  from  the  involvement  of  the  responsible  occupational  safety  organisations, ­
  must  be  taken  account  at  an  early  stage  of  the  development  and  construction
phase.  In  this  connection,  the  applicant,  resp.  approval  holder,  shall  ensure  right  from  the  beginning ­
  that  both  an  operational  and  occupational  safety  concept,  as  part  of  the  overall  safety
and  protection  concept,  and  a  fire  protection  concept  are  drawn  up  and  regularly  updated;
with  respect  to  the  corresponding  approvals,  the  appointed  inspectors  shall  review  both  documents ­
  extensively  with  regard  to  structural  considerations.  With  a  view  to  fire  protection
issues,  reference  is  herewith  made  to  the  information  contained  in  the  guidelines  published  by
the  German  Insurance  Association  (GDV).  The  provisions  stipulated  by  the  Federal  Ministry  of
Transport  and  Digital  Infrastructure  (BMW)  and  the  Waterways  and  Shipping  Directorate-General ­
  (GDWS)  on  all  issues  related  to  transport  safety  remain  unaffected  hereby.
With  respect  to  the  observance  of  the  160  dB  SEL  noise  limit  at  a  distance  of  750  m  from  the
emission  source  during  noise-intensive  foundation  work,  respective  noise-reducing  measures
-  if  required  -  shall  be  allowed  for  early  on  in  the  construction  phase.  The  noise  control  concept, ­
  incl.  the  chosen  work  method  and  the  considerations  justifying  this  selection,  as  well  as
the  planned  ¡mission-minimisation  and/or  damage  prevention  measures  and  the  up-to-date
noise  forecast  based  on  these  measures,  must  be  presented  in  writing  to  the  approval  authority ­
  together  with  the  documentation  required  for  the  2 nd  release  for  the  purpose  of  examination. ­
  At  the  latest  upon  entering  the  3 rd  release  phase,  the  documents  detailing  the  operational
structure  of  the  noise-reducing  measures  with  respect  to  each  of  the  foundation  types  to  be
applied  must  be  submitted.
Generally,  recognised  rules  of  technology  that  already  exist  specifically  for  certain  individual
components  or  systems  are  listed  as  basic  standard  provisions  in  the  corresponding  regulation ­
  materials.  If  applicable  to  offshore  structures,  the  provisions  set  down  in  the  respective
Eurocodes  and  German  technical  regulations  shall  take  precedence.  Omitted  regulations  can
be  supplemented  from  other  codes  of  practice  if  these  are  analysed  for  admissibility  by  an
expert.  It  is  generally  not  allowed  to  mix  different  codes  of  practice.  The  combination  or  mutual ­
  supplementing  of  different  or  competing  codes  of  practice,  or  of  individual  provisions
therein,  shall  always  be  analysed  for  admissibility  and  assessed  accordingly  by  an  expert.  The
hierarchy  of  norms  must  be  determined  and  presented  at  an  early  stage  -  as  a  rule  together
with  the  documents  for  the  1 st  release.