Trash Haulers Aim for Lower Fees in U.S. Supreme Court Fight

Trash Haulers Aim for Lower Fees in U.S. Supreme Court Fight

By Greg Stohr

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The trash hauling industry is seeking to limit the power of local governments to steer garbage to their own facilities in a U.S. Supreme Court case that may affect billions of dollars in municipal bonds.

The court today hears arguments on a "flow control" plan that requires trash in New York's Oneida and Herkimer counties to go to one of several government-owned facilities. Area haulers, backed by the national trade group for the $47 billion industry, say the rules unconstitutionally discriminate against interstate commerce by barring shipments to sites that charge lower fees.

The case will help determine the viability of bond-financed landfills, recycling centers and other facilities. A victory for the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, which has $26 million in debt, would help ensure a steady flow of trash into its facilities. Such a ruling also might give other governments a legal road map, dealing a blow to disposal companies including Houston-based Waste Management Inc. "A lot will turn on the decision,'' says the haulers' Supreme Court lawyer, Evan Tager of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw in Washington. If the waste-management authority wins, ``then all the localities that own their own facilities will run and adopt flow control.''

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Local officials say flow control regulations can be crucial components of environmentally friendly waste-disposal plans. Oneida and Herkimer counties say they faced a crisis two decades ago when each of their towns was responsible for its own trash disposal. Local landfills and other sites eventually required $74 million in cleanup costs.

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