The applicant requested the 1st administrative court of the Federal Tribunal to quash the decision taken by both the municipality of Enclagnens and the Environmental Security Authority, and confirmed by the Administrative Tribunal of the Canton of Vaud. The administrative decision at stake required the applicant to finance an environmental investigation to establish if the soil and the groundwater of its land were polluted by the dump exploited by the applicant.
The applicant required the court to cancel the decision on the basis that despite being an administrator of the company exploiting the dump, he did not have any direct role on the waste disposal.
The court followed the applicant’s argument and cancelled the decision of the lower court on the basis that because the applicant did not have any direct control on the dump, he could not be required to finance an environmental investigation. However, the court did not exclude the fact that the applicant might be held responsible for the potential pollution of the soil and of the groundwater, due to his role as an administrator of the exploiting company.