Opinion ID: 1351325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: authority to regulate

Text: Although Jacobson stipulated that his residence was located within the geographical jurisdiction of SWANN, he contends that the agency's regulatory jurisdiction does not extend to solid waste that is inside his own home. Brief for appellee at 5. The district court interpreted SWANN's regulatory jurisdiction as extending only to solid waste which is discarded and thus enter[s] the system. It concluded that solid waste generated by Jacobson did not enter the system because Jacobson hauled his waste to an alternate facility as permitted by § 13-2020(4) and that therefore SWANN had no regulatory authority over Jacobson or any solid waste generated at his residence. SWANN contends that this interpretation of its regulatory authority over solid waste is overly restrictive. We agree. As we noted in Village of Winside v. Jackson, 250 Neb. 851, 553 N.W.2d 476 (1996), the Act is designed to provide a comprehensive scheme to control the collection and disposal of solid waste. The Act permits a municipality to adopt ordinances or regulations governing solid waste within its jurisdiction as necessary to protect the public health and welfare as well as the environment. Id. See, also, § 13-2023. In Tracy v. City of Deshler, 253 Neb. 170, 175, 568 N.W.2d 903, 907 (1997), we recognized as well settled the principle that a municipality has an affirmative duty to supervise and control the collection of garbage within its corporate limits. This court is guided by the presumption that the Legislature intended a sensible rather than an absurd result. Spaghetti Ltd. Partnership v. Wolfe, 264 Neb. 365, 647 N.W.2d 615 (2002). The Act specifically assigns the responsibility of regulation and oversight of solid waste to local governing bodies because the Legislature determined that such bodies were in the best position to develop efficient waste management programs. § 13-2002(5). To impose on local governments the responsibility to regulate solid waste and then not grant them the authority necessary to fulfill their obligations would lead to an absurd result. Accordingly, we conclude that SWANN's regulatory authority extends to all solid waste generated within its area of jurisdiction. Although § 13-2020(4) provides a means by which a resident or business may avoid paying a service fee to a municipality having regulatory jurisdiction under the Act, it does not alter the power to regulate conferred by the Act.