Construction Materials Recycling Ass'n Issues & Education Fund, Inc. v. Burack

686 F. Supp. 2d 162, 2010 DNH 035, 71 ERC (BNA) 1848, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16882
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Hampshire
DecidedFebruary 25, 2010
DocketCase No. 08-cv-376-PB
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 686 F. Supp. 2d 162 (Construction Materials Recycling Ass'n Issues & Education Fund, Inc. v. Burack) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Construction Materials Recycling Ass'n Issues & Education Fund, Inc. v. Burack, 686 F. Supp. 2d 162, 2010 DNH 035, 71 ERC (BNA) 1848, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16882 (D.N.H. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PAUL BARBADORO, District Judge.

The issue presented by this case is whether three recently-enacted statutes that address the burning of construction and demolition (“C & D”) debris violate the Commerce Clause either by improperly discriminating against out-of-state C & D debris producers or by excessively burdening interstate commerce.

I. BACKGROUND

In 2007, the New Hampshire legislature passed three bills that address the use and disposal of C & D debris. See Constr. Materials Recycling Ass’n Issues & Educ. Fund v. Burack, 2009 DNH Oil, 3, 2009 [165]*165WL 205054. House Bill 427, codified at New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (“RSA”) § 149-M:4, IV-a, re-defined C & D debris as

non-putrescible waste building materials and rubble which is solid waste resulting from the construction, remodeling, repair or demolition of structures or roads. The term includes, but is not limited to, bricks, concrete and other masonry materials, wood, wall coverings, plaster, dry wall, plumbing, fixtures, non-asbestos insulation or roofing shingles, asphaltic pavement, glass, plastics that are not sealed in a manner that conceals other wastes, and electrical wiring and components, incidental to any of the above and containing no hazardous liquid or metals. The term does not include asbestos waste, garbage, corrugated container board, electrical fixtures containing hazardous liquids such as fluorescent light ballasts or transformers, furniture, appliances, tires, drums and containers, and fuel tanks.

N.H.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 149-M:4, IV-a (2009); (see Compl., Doc. No. 1, ¶22.) House Bill 428, the companion to House Bill 427, banned the combustion of “the wood component of construction and demolition debris ... or any mixture or derivation from said component” 1 but provided an exception for the “incidental combustion” of such materials by “municipal waste combustor[s]” and “municipal incinerator[s]” that were in operation on January 1, 2006. See N.H.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 125-C.TO-c (2009); (Compl., Doe. No. 1, ¶ 23). House Bill 873-FN-LOCAL, codified at RSA 362-F:2, II, excluded C & D debris from the definition of “biomass fuels” that qualify as “renewable energy source[s],” and may be used in New Hampshire to produce electricity. See N.H.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 362-F:2, II (2009); N.H.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 362-F:2, XV (2009); (see also Compl., Doc. No. 1, ¶ 24). Taken together, these statutes prohibit wood derived from C & D debris from being burned within the state except for “incidental combustion” at municipal combustors and municipal incinerators that were in existence as of January 1, 2006.

Construction Materials Recycling Association and Education Fund (“CMRAIE”), a national organization that represents individuals and companies involved in the reuse of C & D materials, and New England Recycling, Inc. (“NER”), a Massachusetts corporation that sells C & D-derived fuel, allege in this action against Thomas Burack, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and Michael Delaney, the New Hampshire Attorney General (collectively “the State”) that all three statutes' — RSA 149-M:4, IV-a, RSA 362-F:2, II, and RSA 125-C:10-c (collectively “C & D legislation”)^ — violate the Commerce Clause.2 [166]*166(See Compl., Doc. No. 1, ¶¶ 6-7; Pl.’s Opp. to Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J., Doc. No. 16, at 15, 22.) Plaintiffs base their claim on two legal theories. First, they assert that the C & D legislation violates the Commerce Clause because it improperly discriminates against out-of-state producers of C & D debris who wish to sell the wood component of the debris in the local biomass fuel market. They also contend that the legislation is unconstitutional even if it is not discriminatory because it imposes an excessive burden on interstate commerce. The State argues in a motion for summary judgment that plaintiffs’ claim fails under either theory.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate when “the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A party seeking summary judgment must first identify the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to “produce evidence on which a reasonable finder of fact, under the appropriate proof burden, could base a verdict for it; if that party cannot produce such evidence, the motion must be granted.” Ayala-Gerena v. Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., 95 F.3d 86, 94 (1st Cir.1996); see Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

III. ANALYSIS

The Commerce Clause empowers Congress to regulate commerce “among the several states.” U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, cl. 3. Although the clause “do[es] not expressly restrain ‘the several states’ in any way, [the Supreme Court] ha[s] sensed a negative implication in the provision since the early days.” Dep’t of Revenue v. Davis, 553 U.S. 328, 128 S.Ct. 1801, 1808, 170 L.Ed.2d 685 (2008). This negative implication, referred to as the dormant Commerce Clause, “prevents state and local governments from impeding the free flow of goods from one state to another” and “prohibits protectionist state regulation designed to benefit in-state economic interests by burdening out-of-state competitors.” Alliance of Auto. Mfrs. v. Gwadosky, 430 F.3d 30, 35 (1st Cir.2005) (internal quotations omitted); see also Davis, 128 S.Ct. at 1808; Cherry Hill Vineyard, LLC v. Baldacci, 505 F.3d 28 (1st Cir. 2007).

Laws that discriminate against out-of-state interests are treated differently under the dormant Commerce Clause from laws that affect interstate commerce evenhandedly. “A discriminatory law is virtually per se invalid ... and will survive only if it advances a legitimate local purpose that cannot be adequately served by reasonable non-discriminatory alternatives.” Family Winemakers of Calif. v. Jenkins, 592 F.3d 1, 9 (1st Cir.2010) (quoting Davis, 128 S.Ct. at 1808 (internal citations and quotations omitted)). In contrast, a nondiscriminatory law that nevertheless burdens interstate commerce “will be upheld unless the burden imposed on interstate commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits.” Davis, 128 S.Ct. at 1808 (quoting Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S.Ct. 844, 25 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970)).

A. Discrimination Claim

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Related

Constr Materials Recycling v. Burack
2010 DNH 035 (D. New Hampshire, 2010)
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS RECYCLING ASS'N v. Burack
686 F. Supp. 2d 162 (D. New Hampshire, 2010)

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686 F. Supp. 2d 162, 2010 DNH 035, 71 ERC (BNA) 1848, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/construction-materials-recycling-assn-issues-education-fund-inc-v-nhd-2010.