O'Hara Sanitation Co. v. Montgomery County

44 Pa. D. & C.3d 446, 1986 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 409
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County
DecidedMarch 27, 1986
Docketno. 84-16803
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Pa. D. & C.3d 446 (O'Hara Sanitation Co. v. Montgomery County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O'Hara Sanitation Co. v. Montgomery County, 44 Pa. D. & C.3d 446, 1986 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 409 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1986).

Opinion

BRODY, J.,

—This opinion addresses those issues raised on appeal of the undersigned’s December 16, 1985, rulings in the above captioned cases. These two cases, one in equity and one in mandamus, are on appeal to the Commonwealth Court.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The above referenced actions were instituted by these plaintiffs by the filing of various complaints during the late summer of 1984, after a decision of the Montgomery County Commissioners to close the Montgomery County Landfill as of August 20, 1985. The commissioners’ decision entailed limiting access to the landfill to those parties to whom the county was contractually • obligated. This decision then barred plaintiffs access to the landfill, and these actions were instituted.

These two cases, a third filed by the Jenkintown Borough and a fourth filed by the Conshohocken Borough were consolidated and assigned to the undersigned for trial, by order of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court President Judge Rich[448]*448axd S. Lowe, dated October 3, 1984. Accordingly, pre-trial conferences with all parties were held, and the cases were promptly listed for trial. The trial of all cases began January 8, 1985, and was concluded January 24, 1985. During this time, voluminous testimentary and documentary evidence was presented to the court.

After careful consideration of the entirety of this evidence, and in light of the legal principles discussed infra, this court issued its decision in each case by decree nisi (resolving the actions in equity filed by O’Hara Sanitation Company Inc., Jenkintown and Conshohocken) and by order (resolving the mandamus action filed by Plymouth Township Council) dated February 4, 1985.

Subsequently, motions for post-trial relief were filed by O’Hara Sanitation Co. Inc., Jenkintown and Plymouth Township, (Conshohocken did not file post-trial motions) and a consolidated hearing on these motions was held November 7, 1985. On December 16, 1985, this court issued orders dismissing each motion for post-trial relief, leading to these appeals presently before this court. (Jenkintown did not appeal from the December 16, 1985, order dismissing its motion for post-trial relief.)

This court issued a memorandum opinion as an accompaniment to the order of December 16, 1985, dismissing the post-trial motions. The memorandum opinion fully set forth the legal and factual bases of this court’s conclusions. The opinion is set forth in substance here to present the legal principles leading to the decisions which are now appealed.1

[449]*449FACTUAL BACKGROUND

These cases arise from a decision of the Montgomery County Commissioners to close the Montgomery County Landfill as of August 20, 1985, to all parties with whom the county did not have written contracts.

The pertinent and relevant factual background surrounding this decision and its repercussions are fully discussed in the'findings of fact presented by the trial court in conjunction with its February 4, 1985 decisions. These findings of fact, as relevant, are as follows.

FINDINGS OF FACT

(1) On July 19, 1984, the Montgomery County Commissioners announced at a public meeting that they had unanimously decided to close the Montgomery County Landfill as of August 20, 1984, to all parties with whom the county did not have written contracts.

(2) The reasons for this decision were: (a) the report by the county consulting engineers that the landfill would .be full by March 31, 1985, (b) the county’s determination that it had written contracts that it was bound to honor, and (c) that the cost to county taxpayers of disposal of the solid waste covered by those contracts would be, with the projected rise in disposal costs, between $3 million and $5 million.

(3) Gannett Fleming Environmental Engineers Inc., the county’s consulting engineers, had issued two reports to the county — a May 4, 1984, report stating that if the rate of dumping at the landfill at that time continued, the landfill could accept waste until March 31, 1985, and a report of July 31, 1984, stating that if only contracted trash were to be dumped, the landfill could accept waste until April [450]*4501, 1986. This was based upon current information and survey of. the landfill. .

(4) The county determined that it had contractual obligations to the following municipalities: Abington, Cheltenham, Springfield, Upper Dublin, Upper Moreland, Whitemarsh, Lower Merion, Upper Merion, West Conshohocken, Hatboro Borough and Willow Grove Naval Air Station.

(5) The landfill was closed for the disposal of solid waste to all but the above named municipalities on August 20, 198.4.

(6) The county commissioners’ decision to close the landfill to those who did not have written agreements with the county was made for the benefit of the taxpayers of Montgomery County.

(7) Montgomery County had first entered the field of solid waste disposition in 1971.

(8) In that year, the county acquired by lease space in quarries located in Upper Merion Township and West Conshohocken Borough for use as solid waste landfills known as Montgomery County Solid Waste Landfills Nos. 1 and 2.

(9) The county undertook various construction and site preparations to prepare the landfills to receive solid waste, and to comply with the commonwealth’s requirements for a landfill permit, including sealing the base of the landfills and installing a leachate treatment system. The cost of these preparations necessitated a fee charge that exceeded the rates charged at other available local landfills.

(10) At this time, the county acquired by lease land situated in Upper Dublin Township for use as a trash transfer station known as Abington Transfer Station.

(11) The county also acquired by purchase various trucks, trailers and other equipment related to [451]*451the transportation and disposition of solid waste at the landfills and the Abington Transfer Station.

(12) The acquisition of the leasehold facilities and purchase of equipment by the county was financed by the county through general obligation bonds.

(13) During this time, the county entered into agreements relating to the disposal of solid waste with Abington Township (on May 25, 1971), Upper Dublin Township (June 17, 1971) and Springfield Township (July 16, 1971). These agreements provided for a slightly discounted ' rate for these municipalities.

(14) The landfill was opened for the deposit of solid waste in late 1971.

(15) Initially, and throughout the 1970s it was difficult for the county to get municipalities and private haulers to dump at the county’s facilities because the per-ton price was higher than that charged at other landfills in the area.

(16) Curtis Campman, the director of Public Facilities in the 1970s, made contact with municipalities and some private-hauler associations to encourage them to enter into contracts with the county to commit all their solid waste to the county landfill, with an assurance of protection if they did so.

(17) It was Mr. Campman’s position that the county was not getting the trash stream because there were unregulated landfills (particularly Moyer’s, landfill) where the tipping fees were considerably less than the county’s.

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Bluebook (online)
44 Pa. D. & C.3d 446, 1986 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohara-sanitation-co-v-montgomery-county-pactcomplmontgo-1986.