Facts
The Canton of Aargau submitted a request to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) for compensation of the costs of protective measures at a waste landfill in Wohlen. The landfill was registered in the cantonal inventory of contaminated sites. Based on investigations, increased concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide, and other pollutants were detected in the soil gas. In order to protect persons who will be present in a planned cold storage facility on the landfill site from these emissions, measures such as gas extraction and exhaust air treatment must be taken.
The FOEN rejected the compensation request, as the site did not require remediation, since the pollutant emissions would not reach a location where people regularly stay without the construction of the cold storage facility. The planned measures are therefore necessary due to the planned construction project and not due to the need for remediation, and are therefore not eligible for compensation.
The Canton of Aargau subsequently filed a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court, which was dismissed. The Canton is now appealing this decision to the Federal Supreme Court in public law matters.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal. It concludes that measures triggered by a construction project on a site that does not require remediation are not legally necessary under the Contaminated Sites Act. Since there is no remediation case within the meaning of the Contaminated Sites Act, there is no obligation to provide compensation under Art. 32e para. 3 lit. b no. 2 of the Environmental Protection Act.
The Federal…