The PA Waste Industries Association is pursuing an appeal in state Commonwealth Court in a continuing attempt to stop the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority from imposing a fee on private waste companies as a condition of contracting to dispose of waste generated in the county.

PWIA, which represents private-sector recyclers, waste haulers, and landfill operators throughout Pennsylvania and is the state chapter of the National Solid Wastes Management Association, believes the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas erred when it upheld the fee in a Dec. 13, 2012, order and a subsequent Jan. 11 opinion.

PWIA President Mark C. Pedersen said, “Our attorneys believe the lower court was wrong. Commonwealth Court ruled in 2005 that Act 101, passed by the legislature in 1988, preempts county administrative fees on waste. We believe the Commonwealth Court’s 2005 ruling applies to the plan the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority has adopted. Commonwealth Court held that such fees are illegal, regardless of whether the money from those fees are used to fund recycling, other waste-related activities or general debt service.  We look forward to arguing that point, along with related legal matters, at the appellate level. PWIA is pursuing this because it has potential implications for waste disposal throughout the state.”

Under the authority’s plan, waste companies will be required to sell disposal space at their facilities to the authority and give the authority the right to dictate the fee charged for that space. PWIA believes the plan is a roundabout way of imposing a “disguised” county administrative fee and avoiding accountability to the county taxpayers.

3/25/2013