With the enactment of the Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG), the issue of contaminated sites has lost none of its relevance. While fundamental aspects remain legally unaddressed, the introduction of a stricter liability regime has created numerous new legal challenges. A variety of case studies from both the old and new federal states demonstrate the significant practical importance of this issue. In the first part of this paper, Georg Franz examines the foundations, prerequisites, and limitations of liability for contaminated sites under general police and regulatory law. He specifically analyzes the contentious areas of discussion surrounding the definition of the polluter, the reduction of liability for the condition, and legal succession. Based on this, the author in the second part focuses on the responsibilities of remediation under the BBodSchG.