WHEREAS:

Many local governments issued revenue bonds to finance municipal solid waste facilities to replace or improve older facilities; and

WHEREAS:

Local governments entered into these financial arrangements feeling secure that they could finance these facilities through solid waste disposal fees; and

WHEREAS:

The 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in C&A Carbone v. Town of Clarkstown stripped away the right of state and local governments to direct that municipal solid waste be treated and disposed of in a specific facility; and

WHEREAS:

The loss of "flow control" over municipal solid waste and the associated revenue from disposal fees has caused financial instability and hardship for the operation of public-owned solid waste management systems; and

WHEREAS:

Public solid waste management jobs are threatened by this financial instability.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME support federal legislation restoring the right of state and local governments to direct the flow of municipal solid waste for treatment and disposal.

SUBMITTED BY:

Deborah Bloom, President and Delegate
Alan Netland, Secretary
AFSCME Council 96
Minnesota