LA and Others Press High Court to Overturn Ban on Biosolids Disposal

Date: March 24, 2010

Source: News Room

Officials from Los Angeles and Orange counties are urging the Supreme Court to help them challenge a nearby county's ban on spreading sewage sludge on farmland, arguing that an appellate court's ruling ignored the impact on interstate commerce. They argue that if an appellate ruling is left to stand, it could lead to a biosolids war among local governments that might copy the ban put in place by nearby Kern County. "Kern's ban, if upheld, likely will encourage other rural counties to enact similar bans or onerous restrictions. Such bans will likely in turn lead to retaliatory measures from out-of-county interests," their petition states.

In 2006, Kern County residents approved an initiative, "Measure E," that banned the application of sewage biosolids as farm fertilizer on unincorporated land in the county. The waste-exporting counties first challenged the initiative in district court, arguing it was preempted by state and federal law and arguing it violated the commerce and equal protection clauses of the constitution. However, the 9th Circuit threw out the counties' Commerce Clause claims and returned the case to the district court to consider the counties' state law preemption claims.

The petitioners in LA say the 9th Circuit decision conflicts with the Supreme Court's own decisions, citing several cases including C & A Carbone v. Town of Clarkstown, which generally blocked local governments from banning waste importation.

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