High Court Rejects Curbs on Waste Dumps : Law: States are barred from imposing bans and higher fees on garbage and toxic materials from outside their borders.

Despite fears that some states could become dumping grounds for the nation’s garbage and toxic waste, the Supreme Court on Monday prohibited states from blocking shipments of such material across their borders or imposing higher fees for out-of-state waste.

The Constitution forbids discrimination against interstate commerce, the high court said, even when the products are municipal garbage or hazardous chemicals.

In separate rulings, the justices voided laws from Michigan and Alabama that sought to limit private landfill operators from importing wastes.

A state may not “isolate itself from the national economy” through “protectionist measures” that discriminate against products crossing state lines, said Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority in the Michigan case.

The rulings derail a movement in at least 19 states to erect barriers to out-of-state shipments of waste products. State officials had argued that they should have the authority to protect the public by keeping out unsightly and potentially dangerous materials.

But the Supreme Court, reaffirming a 1978 decision, said that they may not do so if it means treating out-of-state shipments differently.

Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) said he will try to win passage of a bill in Congress this year that would give the states “the right to refuse out-of-state garbage.” A similar provision won Senate approval two years ago but did not become law.

Garbage has been a growth industry in recent decades. In 1988, nearly 180 million tons of municipal waste were produced nationwide, up nearly 50% from 1975, according to Environmental Protection Agency figures cited by the court. Each American accounted for about 4 pounds of garbage per day.

As landfills have reached capacity, particularly in the East, garbage has been hauled to sites in the South and Midwest.

Reacting to public pressure, lawmakers in at least 13 states have enacted measures that could prohibit shipments of waste products from outside their borders, while Alabama and five other states imposed fees or taxes on such shipments.

Monday’s rulings impose a particular hardship on the 16 states with licensed commercial landfills for hazardous wastes, such as paints, chemicals and oil products. The largest of these facilities is located in Emelle, Ala., and is owned by Chemical Waste Management Inc.

In one case (Chemical Waste vs. Hunt, 91-471), the justices struck down on an 8-1 vote an Alabama law that imposed a $72 per ton fee on hazardous wastes from other states. About 95% of the waste shipped to Emelle has come from outside Alabama.

In a second case (Ft. Gratiot Sanitary Landfill vs. Michigan, 91-636), the court on a 7-2 vote struck down a Michigan law allowing county and state officials to forbid all incoming shipments of garbage.

The rulings marked a rare defeat for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who has consistently advocated a “states’ rights” position. He alone dissented in the Alabama case and was joined by Justice Harry A. Blackmun in the Michigan case.

“At least in this area, states’ rights are dead,” said Ohio Assistant Atty. Gen. Mary Kay Smith, who filed a brief on behalf of 11 Southern and Midwestern states supporting Alabama’s position in the case.

A solid majority of the court has insisted that states not put burdens on the free flow of interstate commerce. Last week, the court used that same rationale to strike down state laws that sought to collect sales taxes on mail order shipments.

While Monday’s decisions strip states of most of their power over imported waste, they also allow the states to retain some authority.

For example, a state can limit the total amount of waste deposited at a particular site. It also can screen out toxic substances that are not produced within the state. It can even refuse to license a landfill.

At the same time, federal regulations governing the handling of such waste remain in force.

Manufacturers and landfill operators said they were delighted with the rulings. They had feared a court decision that would have permitted one state after another to close its borders to the shipment of garbage or toxic chemicals.

One of the biggest shippers of waste is California, with its 30 oil refineries, the court was told, yet it has no commercial hazardous-waste incineration facility.

By contrast, the vast majority of the nation’s ordinary garbage is disposed of close to home. Only 8% of municipal garbage is shipped across state lines, said Eugene J. Wingerter, executive director of the National Solid Wastes Management Assn. Nonetheless, it was news reports of New York City’s garbage being shipped on barges down the East Coast that prompted an array of new laws closing state borders.

“Obviously, we are very pleased that the court has reaffirmed the principle that you can’t halt interstate commerce,” Wingerter said.