Opinion ID: 546189
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Barrier to Interstate Commerce

Text: 16 Because hazardous waste is an object of commerce and because the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate the interstate movement of hazardous waste, a state's restriction of that movement is subject to constitutional scrutiny. See City of Philadelphia, 437 U.S. at 622-23, 98 S.Ct. at 2535. To determine whether the Holley Bill erects a barrier to interstate commerce, we follow the test set out by the Supreme Court in City of Philadelphia: 17 [W]here simple economic protectionism is effected by state legislation, a virtually per se rule of invalidity has been erected. The clearest example of such legislation is a law that overtly blocks the flow of interstate commerce at a State's borders. But where other legislative objectives are credibly advanced and there is no patent discrimination against interstate trade, the Court has adopted a much more flexible approach, the general contours of which were outlined in Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. [397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S.Ct. 844, 25 L.Ed.2d 174] 18 Id. at 624, 98 S.Ct. at 2535 (citations omitted). The crucial inquiry, therefore, is whether the Holley Bill is basically a protectionist measure, or whether it is based on legitimate local concerns with effects on interstate commerce that are only incidental. Id. at 624, 98 S.Ct. at 2536. 19 The district court below concluded that the Holley Bill was directed toward a legitimate state concern: complying with SARA's capacity assurance requirements. The district court said that the Holley Bill was not an effort to isolate Alabama from the national economy. National Solid Wastes Management Ass'n v. Alabama Dep't of Envtl. Management, 729 F.Supp. 792, 804 (N.D.Ala.1990). We disagree. First, the Holley Bill is not required for Alabama to comply with section 104(c)(9)'s capacity assurance requirement. According to the Senate Report on SARA and the EPA Guidance Document, Alabama may satisfy its capacity assurance requirements by any combination of three measures: (1) creating new disposal capacity within the state, (2) entering into interstate or regional agreements allowing Alabama to use capacity located in other states, and (3) contracting with private waste management facilities. S.Rep. No. 11, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 22 (1985); EPA Guidance Doc. at 3. If Alabama's capacity assurance plan depends on capacity provided by a commercial, privately owned management facility such as Emelle, the state should contract with the private facility for that capacity, instead of blocking the private facility from accepting wastes from other states. 20 Second, while the Alabama legislature made a finding that large volumes of hazardous waste entering the state increased the likelihood of accidents and the risk to Alabama's citizens and environment, see Ala.Act. No. 89-788, Alabama did not ban the shipment of all hazardous wastes into the state, but only shipments from certain states. [T]he evil of protectionism can reside in legislative means as well as legislative ends. City of Philadelphia, 437 U.S. at 626, 98 S.Ct. at 2536-37. Even if Alabama's purpose in enacting the Holley Bill was to protect human health and the environment in Alabama, that purpose may not be accomplished by discriminating against articles of commerce coming from outside the State unless there is some reason, apart from their origin, to treat them differently. Id. at 626-27, 98 S.Ct. at 2537. Plaintiffs presented testimony undisputed by defendants that the types of wastes accepted at the Emelle facility did not vary based upon the states in which the wastes were generated. The Holley Bill plainly distinguishes among wastes based on their origin, with no other basis for the distinction. 21 Because Alabama's law is a protectionist measure not based adequately on a legitimate local concern, the district court was wrong to apply the Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. balancing test. The Holley Bill does not regulate evenhandedly and its effects on interstate commerce are not merely incidental. See Pike, 397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S.Ct. 844, 847, 25 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970). On its face, the Holley Bill discriminates among out-of-state waste generators and imposes on these generators the burden of conserving Alabama's remaining hazardous waste disposal capacity. We reject the district court's conclusion that, because Alabama closed its borders to only some states and not all states, Alabama is not hoarding its disposal capacity. Alabama has attempted to isolate itself from a problem common to many by erecting a barrier against the movement of interstate trade. City of Philadelphia, 437 U.S. at 628, 98 S.Ct. at 2538. 22 Contrary to defendants' arguments, the Holley Bill does not fall within an exception to the commerce clause carved out by the so-called quarantine cases. In these cases, the Supreme Court upheld state legislation that facially discriminated against out-of-state commerce involving articles that were highly dangerous. For example, the Court upheld a Maine statute that prohibited the importation of a certain type of baitfish not native to Maine because the baitfish contained a parasite that could have a serious detrimental effect on Maine's fisheries. Maine v. Taylor, 477 U.S. 131, 106 S.Ct. 2440, 91 L.Ed.2d 110 (1986). Such state laws do not discriminate against interstate commerce, however, but simply prevent[ ] traffic in noxious articles, whatever their origin. City of Philadelphia, 437 U.S. at 629, 98 S.Ct. at 2538. 23 Alabama's selective ban on out-of-state hazardous waste is no quarantine law. Alabama did not ban hazardous wastes from all other states on the ground that the wastes were dangerous to some human health or environmental aspect which Alabama has a right to regulate. Alabama's ban does not distinguish on the basis of type of waste or degree of dangerousness, but on the basis of the state of generation. The Holley Bill discriminates against interstate commerce.