David Minge: “this week, in the decision of Carbone versus Clarkston, the U.S. Supreme Court trashed flow control laws in this…”

“this week, in the decision of Carbone versus Clarkston, the U.S. Supreme Court trashed flow control laws in this country. Flow control is the power of local government to determine the ultimate disposition of garbage. This decision severely handicaps our cities and counties abilities to safely dispose of our Nation's garbage. The Federal Government required State and local governments to dispose of solid wastes in environmentally sensible fashion. It is good, but it is a classic unfunded mandate. It was expected that local governments could meet this mandate by building new facilities, charging for their use, and directing the flow of garbage to these facilities. The Supreme Court overturned these local ordinances and has now forced communities to take the risks of unsafe, environmentally hazardous disposition of solid wastes, and threatens the security of $18 billion in outstanding municipal bonds. Congress must respond by enacting legislation that will give our localities the tools they need to keep our children and our communities safe. I implore my colleagues not to leave local government holding the garbage bag. instead we must learn how flow control is important to our communities and enact legislation to return to them the power to deal with their solid waste.”