Title: Ex parte Kathy Torbert
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 1150774
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: September 30, 2016

REL: 09/30/2016
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance
sheets of Southern Reporter.  Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions,
Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-
0649), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before
the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA
SPECIAL TERM, 2016
____________________
1150774
____________________
Ex parte Kathy K. Torbert
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
TO THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS
(In re: Kathy K. Torbert
v.
Alabama Department of Public Health)
(Montgomery Circuit Court, CV-12-900020;
Court of Civil Appeals, 2140900)
MURDOCK, Justice.
1150774
I.  Facts and Proceedings Below
Kathy K. Torbert filed a petition with the Alabama
Department of Public Health ("the Department")  for a
1
declaratory 
ruling 
with 
respect 
to 
a 
proposed 
garbage-transfer
station to be built near Torbert's residence.   Among other
2
relief requested, Torbert sought a declaratory ruling under
Ala. Code 1975, § 41-22-11(b), regarding the meaning of the
administrative regulations defining the minimum required
buffer zones around a solid-waste-transfer station.   The
3
portion of the dispute relevant to our decision concerns the
starting point for measuring the required buffer zones.
The 
Department 
rejected 
Torbert's 
proposed 
interpretation
of the buffer-zone regulations.  Torbert appealed the ruling
to the Montgomery Circuit Court.  The circuit court remanded
The pertinent regulations refer to the Alabama State
1
Board of Health.  See Ala. Admin. Code (State Board of
Health), Rule 420-3-5-.12.  The Alabama Department of Public
Health is the named party in this case and is apparently
"acting for" the State Board of Health under Ala. Code 1975,
§ 22-1-1.
A transfer station is a facility for transferring solid
2
waste from local collection trucks to larger vehicles for
transportation to a (frequently distant) landfill or disposal
facility.
Torbert's petition to the Department did not challenge
3
the issuance of the permit for the transfer station.  After
Torbert filed her initial petition, the transfer station at
issue was completed, permits were issued, and the facility is
now in operation. 
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the case to the Department for additional factual findings,
including the preparation of a revised land survey.   On
4
remand, the survey was prepared and the Department made the
necessary findings and reaffirmed its previous ruling.  The
circuit 
court 
subsequently 
affirmed 
the 
Department's 
decision. 
Torbert appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals.
The Court of Civil Appeals unanimously affirmed the
judgment, without an opinion.  This Court granted certiorari
review.  We reverse and remand. 
II.  Standard of Review
Section 41-22-20(k), Ala. Code 1975, governs judicial
review of administrative decisions and provides, in pertinent
part:
"The court may reverse or modify the decision or
grant other appropriate relief from the agency
action ... if substantial rights of the petitioner
have been prejudiced because the agency action is
any one or more of the following:
"....
"(3) In violation of any pertinent agency rule;
"....
The Department filed a petition for mandamus review with
4
the Court of Civil Appeals challenging the circuit court's
power to remand a declaratory-ruling case for additional
factual findings.  The petition was denied.  Ex parte Alabama
Dep't of Public Health, 142 So. 3d 650 (Ala. Civ. App. 2013). 
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1150774
"(6) Clearly erroneous in view of the reliable,
probative, and substantial evidence on the whole
record; or 
"(7) Unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, or
characterized by an abuse of discretion or a clearly
unwarranted exercise of discretion."
In Alabama Medicaid Agency v. Kerby, 84 So. 3d 95, 97-98
(Ala. Civ. App. 2011), the Court of Civil Appeals stated: 
"'This 
court 
has 
held 
that
§ 41–22–20(k) "recognizes the general rule
that judicial review of administrative
decisions is limited in scope to whether
the order is supported by substantial
evidence, whether the agency's decision is
reasonable and not arbitrary, and whether
the agency acted within its power conferred
upon it by law and the constitution."
Ferlisi v. Alabama Medicaid Agency, 481
So. 2d 400 (Ala. Civ. App. 1985).'
"Alabama Medicaid Agency v. Norred, 497 So. 2d 176,
176–77 (Ala. Civ. App. 1986).  In addition, 'an
agency's interpretation of its own regulation must
stand if it is reasonable, even though it may not
appear as reasonable as some other interpretation.'
Ferlisi v. Alabama Medicaid Agency, 481 So. 2d 400,
403 (Ala. Civ. App. 1985)."
(Emphasis added.) 
III. Analysis
The solid-waste-transfer station at issue ("the transfer
station") is sited on a triangular parcel of land in Theodore
that is bordered by Interstate 10, a public recreational park,
and Carol Plantation Road.  Torbert's house is located across
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1150774
Carol 
Plantation 
Road 
from 
the 
transfer 
station, 
approximately
500 feet from the main building of the transfer station.
The transfer station includes a building that contains a
concrete "tipping floor" and a loading bay.  Local waste-
collection trucks discharge their waste onto the tipping
floor, where heavy equipment pushes or lifts the waste into an
open-top trailer located in the adjacent loading bay (which is
approximately seven feet below the level of the tipping
floor).  The waste is then hauled in the open-top trailer to
a landfill or disposal facility.5
Alabama Admin. Code (State Board of Health), Rule 420-3-
5-.03(64), defines "transfer station" as:
"(64) Transfer Station — any combination of
structures, land, machinery or devices at a place or
facility at which solid waste containing garbage, or
The operations plan for the transfer station provides:
5
"B. TIPPING FLOOR OPERATIONS
"....
"...  [T]he vehicles will back onto the tipping
floor to an unloading area designated by the
Attendant.  When the vehicle is in position, the
waste load will be discharged directly onto the
tipping floor.  ...  The heavy equipment operator
will continuously push dumped waste towards the
north end of the tipping floor.  The waste will be
placed in the open-top transfer trailer located in
the loading bay of the transfer station."
(Emphasis added.) 
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1150774
scrap tires, is taken from transportation units and
placed in other transportation units for movement to
a solid waste handling or disposal facility.  ..."
(Emphasis added.) There is no dispute that the transfer
station here is a "transfer station" under this definition.
The location of a transfer station is governed by Ala.
Admin. Code (State Board of Health), Rule 420-3-5-.12(2),
which provides, in pertinent part: 
"(2) Location. The location of a transfer
station 
shall 
meet 
the 
following 
siting
requirements:
"(a) The facility shall be surrounded by buffer
zones of the following proportions unless such
facility is located in an area zoned industrial or
commercial:
"1. 100 feet between the area of transfer
activities and all public roads and other property
boundaries.
"2. 500 feet between the area of transfer
activities or storage of garbage and the nearest
residence, school or recreational park in existence
at the time the application is filed.
"(b) Facilities located in urbanized areas or
other locales that require the use of a small
acreage lot may obtain approval from the Board for
a reduced buffer zone, provided operations are
enclosed and do not create a public health nuisance
or hazard."
(Emphasis added.)
This case presents a question of first impression
regarding the Department's interpretation of its regulations
that govern the siting of solid-waste-transfer stations,
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1150774
specifically those regulations that define the starting point
for measuring the required buffer zones around a solid-waste-
transfer station. 
The applicable regulations require a buffer zone of at
least "500 feet between the area of transfer activities or
storage of garbage and the nearest residence, school or
recreational park."   Ala. Admin. Code (State Board of
6
Health), Rule 420-3-5-.12(2)(a)2 (emphasis added).  The term
"area of transfer activities" is not defined in the
regulations.  The Department contends that "area of transfer
activities" includes only the tipping floor; Torbert contends
that the "area of transfer activities" also includes the
loading bay.  According to the survey conducted on remand, the
tipping floor is located more than 500 feet from Torbert's
house, but the loading bay is less than 500 feet from her
house. 
The 
Department's 
declaratory 
ruling 
included 
the
following statement:
"A solid waste transfer station's areas of
transfer activity are those locations that have been
designated for that purpose, or the storage of
garbage, on the transfer station's site plan.  This
Department has consistently used those designated
locations as the points from which to measure the
required buffer zones; not the site's boundary.  The
Areas for storage of garbage are not at issue here.
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1150774
area of transfer activity for this particular site
has been designated as the tipping floor -- the area
in which the solid waste is transferred from one
transportation unit to another for ultimate delivery
to a landfill. No area on this site has been
designated for storage of garbage. This site's
tipping floor was certified to be over 500 feet away
from nearest residence, school or recreational park
by the site's engineer and this was verified by
health department staff."
(Emphasis added; footnote omitted.)
The Department contends that the "area of transfer
activities" includes only the tipping floor, and it argues
that "[t]he transfer of waste is complete when the waste
leaves the tipping floor.  Therefore, it is reasonable to
limit the area of transfer activity to the tipping floor." 
The Department also states that 
"the loading bay is where the transport vehicles
park to be loaded.  ...  As discussed above, the
waste 
is 
put 
in 
the 
transport 
vehicle
instantaneously on leaving the tipping floor.
Consequently, once the waste reaches the loading
bay, the transfer of the waste from one vehicle to
another is complete.  As a result, the area of
transfer activity does not include the loading bay."
The Department's argument fails because it is based on an
unreasonable meaning of the term "transfer."  The term "area
of transfer activities" is not defined in the regulations, but
it draws meaning from the term "transfer," a term that means
"to convey from one person, place, or situation to another:
move, shift."  Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1328
8
1150774
(11th ed. 2003).  Logically, a "transfer" is not complete
until the thing or item being transferred arrives at its
destination. 
This case involves a transfer of garbage from local
collection trucks to an open-top trailer, which is parked in
the loading bay while it is being loaded.   A "transfer" must
7
logically include both the unloading of garbage from one
vehicle and the loading of that garbage into another vehicle. 
The transfer is complete only when the garbage reaches the
second vehicle (the open-top trailer).  The loading (and the
completion of the transfer) occurs in the loading bay.
The Department contends that the transfer should be
deemed complete when the garbage leaves the tipping floor. 
The Department's contention is contrary to the facts; when the
garbage leaves the tipping floor, it is still in the loader
bucket, but not yet in the recipient vehicle (the open-top
trailer).  Further, the 
Department's 
contention is contrary to
the Department's argument, as quoted in above, that "once the
waste reaches the loading bay, the transfer ... is complete."
(Emphasis added.)  If the transfer is complete when the
It is not material that there is an intermediate step in
7
which the garbage is dumped onto the tipping floor and then
loaded into the open-top trailer.  With or without the
intermediate step, the transfer of garbage is from the
collection truck to the trailer.
9
1150774
garbage reaches the loading bay, the loading bay is
necessarily a part of the "area of transfer activities."  
8
Defining the "area of transfer activities" to include the
loading bay is also consistent with the definition of
"transfer station" as a facility where solid waste "is taken
from transportation units and placed in other transportation
units."  That definition contemplates that the transfer is not
complete until the waste is actually placed into the second
unit (an event that occurs in the loading bay). 
Thus, we conclude that the Department's interpretation of
its regulations is arbitrary and 
unreasonable.  The Department
could have adopted regulations specifically defining the area
of transfer activities as the tipping floor or regulations
measuring the buffer zones from the tipping floor.  It did
neither but, instead, attempted to circumvent the regulations
in this case  by using an unreasonable definition of the
9
phrase "area of transfer activities."  
The Department stresses the instantaneous nature of the
8
transfer, but regardless of the time required to effect the
transfer, the transfer is not complete until the garbage lands
in the open-top trailer. 
It appears that the designation of the tipping floor as
9
the area of transfer activities was made only after the
Department learned that the site was too small to accommodate
the required 500-foot buffer zones without using the more
restrictive definition.
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We also note that the Department's definition is not
consistent with the policy reasons for the buffer zones.  The
odors, sights, and sounds associated with a garbage-transfer
facility and their effect on the occupants' enjoyment of a
nearby home are as referable to the loading-bay portion of a
garbage-transfer facility as they are to the "tipping floor"
of such a facility. 
IV. Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the judgment of the
Court of Civil Appeals and remand the case to that court for
an order consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Stuart, Bolin, Parker, Shaw, Main, and Wise, JJ., concur.
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