Nov 18, 2002 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

The City of Uniontown, North Union and South Union townships have a Dec. 12 date in Commonwealth Court to argue for an injunction to halt enforcement of a state law that imposes a $4 fee on every ton of garbage dumped in landfills and a $100 fee on garbage trucks. Attorney James Davis, who represents all three municipalities in the case, will argue for the injunction to stop the state from collecting the fees until the court rules on a lawsuit he filed that challenges the constitutionality of the law.

The suit is in its early stages and a court date has not yet been scheduled.

Davis said his primary argument for the injunction is that the law interferes with existing contracts between all three municipalities and the German Township landfill operator CBF Inc.

His petition for the injunction states that the municipalities “will be forced to pay higher fees/cost for the disposal of their solid waste not contemplated in the existing contracts covering the pick up, transportation and disposal of their solid waste.”

CBF sent letters to the townships in July stating that the mandated fees would increase residential collection rates by 50 cents per month,

The law allows, but does not require landfill operators like CBF to pass through and collect the $4-per-ton fee from the municipalities. Landfill operators must forwards the fees to the Department of Environmental Protection.

However, the law does not allow truck owners to pass the $100 truck fee to any party that does not own or operate the trucks, according to the DEP’s response to injunction petition.

The city owns its own trucks, but CBF uses its trucks to collect garbage for the townships.

Davis also contends that the state is depositing the collected fees into the general fund, instead of using the money for environmental programs, which is the purpose stated in the law.

“It’s a means of raising revenue under the guise of regulation,” Davis said.

The law says the first $50 million collected in fiscal year 2002-03 will go to the Environmental Stewardship Fund and the rest to the general fund in the state budget. Beginning with fiscal year 2003-04, all money collected goes into the stewardship fund.

Although the $4 fee went into effect July 9, the first payments were not due until Oct. 20.

Uniontown recently paid $4,394 to CBF to cover the fees.

“As we sit here today, it is the law,” Davis said, when asked if the townships have paid the fees.

The townships’ supervisors agreed to a joint five-year contract with CBF in 1999 and Uniontown City Council approved a five-year agreement with the landfill this year.

Landfills that take garbage from trucks without the sticker, signifying that the truck owner paid the $100 fee, is subject to a $2,000 fine.

Transporters that don’t obtain the authorization stickers for their trucks or violate any other provision of the law face criminal fines of $5,000-$10,000 for the first offense and $10,000-$25,000 for subsequent violations. Civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation are also possible.

The landfill and truck fees are assessed in addition to a 25-cent per-ton fee imposed in 1999 and a $2 per ton recycling fee. These fees also go to the stewardship fund.