A federal appeals court has upheld the flow control law in Horry County, S.C.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the county’s law treats all businesses equally, so it doesn’t violate interstate commerce or the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to the judgment.

The court upheld a January ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina that rejected claims by Sandlands C&D LLC and its sister company Express Disposal Service LLC to overturn the ordinance, which directs all waste collected inside the county to the county landfill in Conway, S.C.

The appeals court stated, “Under the ordinance, EDS can still haul Horry County waste to the SWA (solid waste authority) landfills, as do other local hauling companies. Therefore, the flow control ordinance does not discriminate against interstate commerce.”

This summer the Silver Spring, Md.-based Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) filed a brief with the court supporting Horry County’s law. For the second year in a row the South Carolina legislature considered a bill outlawing flow control but did not pass one.