Keystone Sanitation Co. v. Union Township

32 Pa. D. & C.3d 198, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 301
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Adams County
DecidedNovember 6, 1984
Docketno. 84-S-294
StatusPublished

This text of 32 Pa. D. & C.3d 198 (Keystone Sanitation Co. v. Union Township) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Adams County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keystone Sanitation Co. v. Union Township, 32 Pa. D. & C.3d 198, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 301 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1984).

Opinion

SPICER, P.J.,

Keystone Sanitation Co., Inc. (Keystone) operates a sanitary landfill in Union Township. The township enacted Ordinance 1984-A on April 30, 1984, by which it sought to impose regulations on the landfill operations and require Keystone to obtain a license from the township. Keystone filed this action in equity on May 10, 1984, and sought a preliminary injunction restraining the enforcement of the ordinance.

A hearing was conducted on May 15, 1984. The township agreed to refrain from enforcing the ordinance pending a resolution of the legal issues involved in the case. Keystone agreed to apply for a license. Both parties agreed with this court’s decision to treat the action as involving a request for a declaratory judgment. Following this, briefs were filed and argument occurred. The case is now ready for decision.

The court will follow Equity Rule 1517 for the remainder of this adjudication because declaratory judgment proceedings are subject to Equity Rules. Pa.R.C.P. 1601.

THE ISSUES

Issues raised and argued include the following:

(1) Whether the Solid Waste Management Act, Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. §6018.101 et seq. and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto preempt Union Township’s ordinance?

(2) Whether the Union Township ordinance is unconstitutionally arbitrary and not reasonably related to the health, safety, and welfare of the community?

(3) Whether Union Township’s ordinance is beyond the scope of authority granted to the township [200]*200by the Second Class Township Code, Act of May 1, 1933, P.L. 103, art. I, §101; 53 P.S. §65101 et seq. as amended?

(4) Whether Union Township’s ordinance is an attempt to regulate land use without the statutory safeguards essential to zoning?

THE FACTS

The facts involved in this case are undisputed. Keystone has operated its landfill on a 67.69 acre tract in the township for a number of years. Ordinance 1984-A attempts to impose several different types of requirements in the operation. The operator must obtain a license for which there must be paid a processing fee of $100 and a license fee of $1,500 per year. Liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 must be maintained.

Some regulations appear based upon aesthetic or environmental considerations. The ordinance prohibits dumping, depositing, storage, or treatment of refuse within 200 feet of any public road or property line. The township supervisors may require reasonable screening as they might decide “from time to time.”

Other requirements concern information. For example, regulation C in Section X requires that the operator maintain a register in which is identified persons dumping, the types of materials dumped, times, and the license number of the vehicle. Regulation K requires the licensee to inform the supervisors of any seepage or contamination.

There are regulations which affect the manner in which the landfill is operated. For example, regulation G requires the licensee to cover refuse each day. Regulation D sets the hours of operation and B and E impose security requirements.

[201]*201DISCUSSIONS OF LAW AND CONCLUSIONS

The issues make clear that Keystone attacks this ordinance on several theories. However, the first and most serious attack is based upon preemption by the Commonwealth.

Preemption has been discussed by many decisions and in several law review articles. Examples of the latter are Lavelle, Mixing Apples and Oranges: City of Pittsburgh v. Allegheny Bank, 42 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 961 (1981); and Dalzell, The State Preemption Doctrine: Lessons From the Pennsylvania Experience, 33 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 205, (1971). An example of the former is this court’s opinion in Davies Used Auto Parts, et al. v. Mt. Joy Township, 18 D. & C.3d 467, 24 (1982), reversed on other grounds, Pa. Commw. , 472 A.2d 1172 (1984). In Davies, the court discussed principles of preemption that emerge from such cases as Western Pennsylvania Restaurant Association v. Pittsburgh, 366 Pa. 374, 77 A.2d 616 (1951) and Holland Enterprises, Inc. v. Joka, 64 Pa. Commw. 129, 439 A.2d 876 (1982). These principles, which appear simple enough, can be summarized as follows:

1. The question of preemption is a matter of leg- , islative intent.

2. Statutes which expressly provide that state regulations preempt local action or that local authorities may continue to act obviously pose no problems.

3. Problems arise in the third area in which the legislature has not spoken. If a statute is silent on the subject, courts must determine legislative intent by considering the following:

A: whether a conflict or inconsistency occurs between state and local regulations, or

[202]*202B: whether local regulations can aid and further the goals of the statute, and

C: in evaluating these alternatives, the effect of local regulations on the state’s regulations are considered, not the effect of local regulations on the subject of regulation.

Generally, courts have sustained zoning and setback ordinances which affect landfills but which do not attempt to regulate the very activity already subject to state regulations. For example, a setback requirement was validated in Sunny Farm Ltd. v. North Cordorus Twp., Pa. Commw. , 474, A.2d 56 (1984). Restricting landfills to those operated by municipalities also was approved in Kavanagh v. London Grove Township Twp., 33 Pa. Commw. 420, 382 A.2d 148, (1978), affirmed by equally divided court, 486 Pa. 133, 404 A.2d 393 (1979). Kavanagh involved a zoning ordinance. Even though not preempted, these ordinances may be subject to attack on general zoning principles. See, Moyer’s Landfill, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Board of Lower Providence Twp., 69 Pa. Commw. 47, 450 A.2d 273 (1982).

Courts usually find preemption when there is an attempt to duplicate state regulations or to impose additional regulations in areas subject to comprehensive state regulations. Although it has been suggested that a syllogistic analysis should be applied,1 [203]*203the usual treatment is to determine if there is comprehensive state regulation. If there is, the usual conclusion is there has been preemption. For example, Lavelle, supra, states: “Similarly, a municipal ordinance regulating meat packaging for example, would presumably be preempted by state regulation of the same subject.” (page 973) See also, Commonwealth ex rel. Allegheny County v. Shenot, 207 Pa. Super. 351, 218 A.2d 76 (1966) and, more pertinently, Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority v. Hempfield Twp., 5 Pa. Commw. 495, 291 A.2d 318 (1972).

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Related

City of Pittsburgh v. Allegheny Valley Bank
412 A.2d 1366 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1980)
Western Pennsylvania Restaurant Ass'n v. Pittsburgh
366 Pa. 374 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1951)
Kavanagh v. London Grove Township
404 A.2d 393 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Commonwealth ex rel. Allegheny County v. Shenot
218 A.2d 76 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1966)
Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority v. Hempfield Township
291 A.2d 318 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1972)
Kavanagh v. London Grove Township
382 A.2d 148 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Holland Enterprises, Inc. v. Joka
439 A.2d 876 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
Moyer's Landfill, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Board
450 A.2d 273 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
Mt. Joy Township v. Davies Used Auto Parts
472 A.2d 1172 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)

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32 Pa. D. & C.3d 198, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keystone-sanitation-co-v-union-township-pactcompladams-1984.