Opinion ID: 3009773
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Mercer County Plan

Text: Plaintiff/appellant, Tri-County Industries, Inc., is a Pennsylvania corporation doing business in Mercer County, 15 Pennsylvania. In late 1989, the Mercer County Commissioners formed the Mercer County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA) to implement the County's duties under the Act. Mercer County generates approximately 5,000 tons of municipal waste each month. After retaining the services of an independent consultant, Mercer County decided that the best solution for this fairly small county would be to contract with a single disposal facility. The County prepared detailed bid specifications for the needed municipal waste capacity. The Request for Proposals (RFP) was advertised nationwide and was obtained by twentythree companies around the country. Although many of these companies were located in Pennsylvania, others were located in Ohio, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota and Louisiana. Only four companies, including the appellee, Tri-County, submitted a bid in response to the RFP, and none of these was from outside Pennsylvania. The successful bidder was Waste Management of Pennsylvania, the owner of a landfill in Butler County. By its terms the process outlined by Mercer County in its RFPs does not discriminate against in- or out-of-state interests. The RFP requirements apply equally to all disposal facilities, irrespective of their location. Id, see also RFP 1.4(g). The plan was submitted to DER in the fall of 1990 and approved in March, 1991. After DER approved the Plan, MCSWA contracted with the successful bidder, and Mercer County adopted the now contested Ordinance, No. 6-1991. The ordinance requires each hauler in the county to obtain a license and to haul 16 municipal waste generated in the county to the landfill designated in the county plan as it may be revised from time to time. Section 3, 6-1991. Although the Plan required Tri-County to haul the waste to the Butler facility and pay the $35 per ton tipping fee, TriCounty in fact took some of its waste to two other facilities in Ohio which charged tipping fees of only $17.20 and $27.95 per ton. Of the approximately 600 to 900 tons of waste Tri-county hauled monthly, it took 500 tons per month to the non-designated, Ohio facilities. The MCSWA notified Tri-County by letter dated March 19, 1993, that it would hold a hearing on April 15, 1993, to determine whether Tri-county's waste hauling license should be revoked for its failure to deliver all of its waste to the designated facility.