Opinion ID: 788374
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facially Discriminatory

Text: 24 The two-staged analysis for dormant Commerce Clause claims is instructive as to the relevant zone of interests to be protected. First, with respect to laws that facially discriminate against out-of-state economic interests, the dormant Commerce Clauses seeks to protect against local economic protectionism and retaliation among the states. C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, N.Y., 511 U.S. 383, 114 S.Ct. 1677, 1682, 128 L.Ed.2d 399 (1994) (The central rationale for the rule against discrimination is to prohibit state or municipal laws whose object is local economic protectionism, laws that would excite those jealousies and retaliatory measures the Constitution was designed to prevent.). In this context, discrimination simply means differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefits the former and burdens the latter. Oregon Waste Sys., Inc. v. Dep't of Envtl. Quality of the State of Or., 511 U.S. 93, 114 S.Ct. 1345, 1350, 128 L.Ed.2d 13 (1994). 25 We conclude that plaintiffs' injury does not fall within the zone of interests to be protected by the dormant Commerce Clause with respect to ordinances that are alleged to facially discriminate against out-of-state economic interests. The flow control ordinances mandate that any waste generated within the Region be transported to the Authority's landfill or transfer stations. In effect, the ordinances prohibit the export of any waste outside of the Region, including out of state. However, these plaintiffs do not ship (and, so far as the record shows, have never shipped) any waste they collect within the Region to any location outside of Mississippi, nor do they ship (and, so far as the record shows, have never shipped) any waste from outside of Mississippi to the Region. Plaintiffs also have not even alleged that they have any plans to do so, 14 and have not suggested that some other party currently ships waste from the Region outside of Mississippi, or has plans to do so, or that any out-of-state waste processor receives (or has plans to receive) any of the Region's waste out of state. In sum, plaintiffs' injury is not related to any out-of-state characteristic of their business. 15 Thus, plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the ordinances on the basis of a claim that they are facially discriminatory against out-of-state interests. 16 As such, we express no opinion about whether the ordinances would pass the facially discriminatory test if challenged by a proper plaintiff.