Facts
The municipality of Hasle operated a landfill for municipal waste in the Siedenmoos area from 1980 to 1996. After the closure of the landfill in 1996, the Canton of Lucerne approved in 1998 a remediation and landfill project that included the remediation of the old landfill and the construction of a new inert waste landfill over the remediated landfill body. In 2003, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) rejected an application by the Canton of Lucerne for federal compensation of the remediation costs. The Canton then filed a complaint, which was upheld by the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court decided that the construction and operation of an inert waste landfill duly permitted under the new law over the remediated contaminated site does not a priori exclude compensation. The use of subsidized municipal waste incineration slag as a surface sealant does not violate any express legal norms, but does pose a certain, unquantified risk of pollutant leaching. However, this risk can be effectively limited by monitoring the wastewater and, if necessary, by connecting to a wastewater treatment plant. Overall, the remediation meets the legal requirements, so the Canton is entitled to federal compensation.
The Federal Supreme Court criticized that the legal requirements for contaminated site remediation are formulated in a very vague manner in the law and that it is unsatisfactory if compensation is denied after the remediation work has…