ELR Citation: ELR 21018
No(s). C89-1769W (W.D. Wash. Jan 22, 1991)

The court rules that a county ordinance that bans infectious medical wastes generated outside of the county violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 8 ELR 20540, the court holds that the ordinance is unconstitutional because it discriminates solely on the basis of origin. The court holds that the challenged ordinance is distinguishable from an ordinance upheld by the Second Circuit in Evergreen Waste Systems v. Metropolitan Service District, 17 ELR 20901, in which a three-county ban on waste from any source outside the three-county area was upheld. The challenged ordinance is like the Evergreen ordinance because it erects a barrier around an area smaller than an entire state. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that a county border ban violates the Commerce Clause. The court concludes that the ordinance would significantly affect interstate and foreign commerce, and could only have been intended to have that effect. The court holds that applying a balancing test to determine whether the ordinance regulates even-handedly is unnecessary because the ordinance unconstitutionally applies different rules to medical wastes based solely on their origin. The court observes that even though the ordinance serves the legitimate local purpose of minimizing risks of accidents and exposure, it impermissibly has more than incidental effects on interstate commerce. Finally, the court holds that the ordinance does not fall within the quarantine exception to Commerce Clause analysis.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
James R. Moore, Kathryn L. Tucker
Perkins Coie
1201 Third Ave., 40th Fl., Seattle WA 98101-3099
(206) 583-8888

Counsel for Defendants
Paul J. Kundtz, Loren Dunn, James E. Rogers
Riddell, Williams, Bullitt & Walkinshaw
Ste. 4400, 1001 Fourth Ave. Plaza, Seattle WA 98154
(206) 624-3600