Thursday March 28th, 2024 11:55AM

SCOGA rules in favor of Elbert County on landfill issue

ATLANTA - A court decision that would have allowed a proposal for a solid waste landfill to proceed in Elbert County has been reversed.
 
In a unanimous decision issued today, Presiding Justice P. Harris Hines writes that the Elbert County Superior Court made several errors in the case of Elbert County et. al. vs. Sweet City Landfill LLC, et. al., and it is sending the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
 
Sweet City Landfill LLC wants to operate a 270-acre landfill on one of three sites in Elbert County.
 
In a vote held three years ago, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners voted not to enter into a host agreement with Sweet City Landfill LLC.
 
Sweet City Landfill LLC sued the county, asserting Elbert's landfill ordinance is unconstitutional
 
In September 2014, Superior Court Judge Stephen E. Boswell signed an order granting a motion for summary judgment in favor of Sweet City Landfill LLC in the case.
 
Boswell's order found that the county’s solid waste ordinance violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and that the July 9, 2012, action by the Elbert County Board of Commissioners deprived Sweet City of the right to equal protection under both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions.
 
The trial court found that the County’s intent in enacting the solid waste ordinance was “to ban all municipal solid waste landfills in Elbert County.” The trial court also determined that the July 9, 2012, county commission action was a “siting decision” that required notice to the public under Georgia law, and that the public had not been notified. 
 
Based on that information, the trial court voided the July 9, 2012, county commission vote, indicating the county commission action was not final because it took no action on Sweet City's application for a special use permit.
 
A week after that decision, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court, hiring in the process former Georgia Chief Justice Norman Fletcher to help represent Elbert County in the suit.
 
In today’s opinion, the Court addresses each of the trial court’s rulings, finding a number of errors. 
 
For instance, the ordinance does not, on its face, discriminate against interstate commerce in violation of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, the opinion states. 
 
The trial court’s order says that the “stated legislative intent of the Elbert County Solid Waste Ordinance as of 2009 and present is to ban all municipal solid waste landfills in Elbert County.” But “this ignores the record before the trial court,” the opinion states. 
 
Rather, the stated intent of the ordinance “is to promote the safety and welfare of the county residents, preserve county resources regarding county-maintained roads, and protect the natural resources of the county,” the ruling states.
 
Sweet City argued that if all other Georgia counties enacted similar ordinances, the cumulative effect would significantly impact interstate commerce. 
 
“But this argument is simply speculative, and there is no evidence that the enactment of ordinances with the same siting criteria in the other 158 counties of Georgia would, in fact, produce an effective ban on the location of solid waste facilities,” the opinion states. 
 
The trial court also erred in ruling in favor of Sweet City on its claim that it was deprived of equal protection by the county’s determination that while Sweet City was required to have a special use permit, Plant Granite was not, according to the opinion. 
 
The trial court never should have addressed the issue, today’s opinion states, as Sweet City failed to first obtain a final decision from the board of commissioners before seeking review by the court. 
 
The case was remanded to the trial court (superior court) with direction.
 
Land use and environmental law attorney Brandon Bowen of Jenkins and Bowen P.C., Elbert County Attorney Bill Daughtry also defended the county, along with attorneys Robert Walker, A. Franklin Beacham III, and Lee Carter.
 
Sweet City Landfill LLC is represented by Andrew Welch III and Lajuana Ransaw. 

  • Associated Categories: Local/State News
  • Associated Tags: Georgia Supreme Court, SCOGA, Elbert County, landfill
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