WASHINGTON -- The Government Finance Officers Association has joined the push for legislation to allow states and localities to dictate where garbage is to be sent for disposal.
A policy statement approved by the association at its annual meeting in Minneapolis this week said flow control authority is needed "to hold down costs" of solid waste management and to ensure that waste facilities "are able to operate near capacity."
The Supreme Court's May 16 ruling in C&A Carbone v. Clarkstown, N.Y., which struck down flow control ordinances, provided the impetus for the GFOA action.
Other groups pushing for legislation include the Public Securities Association and the National Association of Counties.
So far the Supreme Court ruling has not affected the credit of issuers of solid-waste bonds rated by Moody's Investors Service, Marie Pisecki, a vice president at Moody's, said this week. Standard & Poor's Corp. had no comment.
Any legislation should preserve existing flow control ordinances as well as existing debt secured under such authority, and it should extend to all sources of municipal solid waste, including residential, commercial, and institutional sources, the GFOA statement said.
Legislation also should specify that state and local flow control laws must give "all interested parties" a chance to have their facilities considered for designation to receive waste, the statement said.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., has circulated draft legislation that would preserve flow control programs that already have been implemented. But the bill would give states and localities future control only over the flow of residential waste.
Rep. Al Swift, D-Wash., also is expected to circulate a new draft bill, possibly by the end of this week, sources said. His previous drafts would have given states and localities prospective authority to control the flow of both commercial and residential waste, which drew opposition from the waste industry.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee could act by the end of June on an interstate waste bill allowing states to restrict importation of out-of-state waste, sources said. Such legislation could include Lautenberg's flow control provisions.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on transportation and hazardous materials, which is chaired by Swift, may act late this month or in July on interstate waste and flow control, a subcommittee aide said.
