In this context measures are to be taken to avert and eliminate hazards to the soil and to protect against future negative impacts on the soil. Thus in the future soil as an environmental medium - like air or water - will be placed under special protection by federal legislation, not only indirectly but also directly. Among other things, the Act will mandate the obligations to avoid and avert contamination of the soil and to remediate soil damage. This will ensure that the soil is permanently protected from excessive exploitation by humankind. There are presently about 170,000 suspected contaminated sites in civilian areas in Germany.

Although only a small portion of these sites will actually prove to require remediation measures (between 10 and 20 percent, according to estimates), the mere suspicion that a site could be contaminated has a profound impact on its value and usability. There are also currently 3,240 suspected contaminated sites in arms production areas as well as 33,750 sites where problems with contamination caused by the Western Group of Forces were presumed. After these sites were completely evaluated, however, it was determined that well over half of them exhibited no signs of contamination.