NSWMA files brief opposing Calif. landfill restriction

The National Solid Wastes  Management Association has filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeal for the state of California opposing Solano County’s ballot issue Measure E, which the association says bans the importation of solid waste and recyclables from outside the county.

Measure E has been in place for 19 years, but Solano County has not enforced it  because the county believed the measure is unconstitutional, according to the NSWMA. In 2009 several organizations, including the Sierra Club, filed lawsuits seeking enforcement of the measure. The intent is to block the expansion of the landfill, the association claimed.

NSWMA President and CEO Bruce Parker said, “By imposing a de facto ban on the importation of solid waste from other parts of California and other states, Measure E creates a dangerous precedent that could lead to a patchwork of discriminatory and protectionist solid waste bans from cities and counties across the country, thereby harming the national infrastructure, economy and public health.”

David Biderman, general counsel for the association, added, “For decades, U.S. courts have struck down protectionist barriers such as this Solano county measure as incompatible with the Commerce Clause. Measure E isolates Solano County from waste originating in other parts of California and in other states. We urge the California Court of Appeals to strike down this unconstitutional law.”