A. has operated for many years a coating plant in the Municipality of Ecublens. Residents of the area surrounding the plant complained about important disturbances regarding dust and odour emitted by this plant.

The cantonal authority competent for regulating air emission (the SEVEN) required the operator to comply with an emission limit value (50 mg/m3) with regard to its organic carbon emissions.

The operator brought an action against the decision taken by the SEVEN before the Administrative Tribunal of the Canton of Vaud. The Tribunal dismissed the applicant’s action ruling that the emission limit value was usually admitted in practice.

The applicant appealed this latest decision before the First Administrative Court of the Federal Tribunal on the basis that the emission limit value set by the SEVEN would not respect conditions laid down by the Federal Law on Environmental Protection and the Swiss Federal Ordinance on Air Pollution Control.

The Court applied the prevention principle and article 7 of the Federal Law on Environmental Protection establishing the principle of source-directed measures to limit air pollution. It ruled that emissions of organic substances must be measured in overall. According to the Court, the emission limit value was technically feasible and economically acceptable.

Therefore the Court dismissed the appeal.