Landfill lawsuit petition is denied
About $603,000 in disputed fees had been deposited in an escrow account by WM, formally known as Waste Management, while the lawsuit made its way through the courts.
The Benton County Solid Waste District wants to take its dispute over landfill fees to the state Supreme Court.
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied a petition for a rehearing in the case between the Benton County district and the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District over the fees.
Wendy Bland, executive director of the Benton County district, said its executive committee already gave the attorneys approval to petition for review from the Arkansas Supreme Court.
“We will be pursuing that as our next avenue,” Bland confirmed over the phone Wednesday. The district has 10 days to submit the petition.
In November, the Court of Appeals ruled the Boston Mountain district is entitled to a portion of landfill fees generated by the Benton County district.
This unanimous decision upheld Washington County Circuit Judge John Threet’s decision, which stated the Benton County district lacked the authority to replace its $1.50-per-ton waste assessment fee with its own 1-cent-per-ton waste assessment fee.
The Benton County district replaced its fee with the 1-cent-per-ton fee and $1.49-per-ton service fee. This meant the Benton County district would only have to give half of the 1-cent-per-ton fee to the Boston Mountain district, while keeping all revenue from the service fee.
Threet decided the Benton County district created the service fee to circumnavigate a state law that allows the Boston Mountain district to collect half of the revenue from Benton County’s waste assessment fees.
This fee applies for any solid waste generated or brought into a district. This is where the Benton County district’s principal complaint lies, as it brings much of its solid waste to the Eco-Vista Landfill in Tontitown, which is within Boston Mountain’s district.
Lawsuits between the two districts began in 2016. The initial lawsuit brought by the Benton County district requests the division of fees be declared unconstitutional and seeks an injunction to have the disputed money held in escrow.
About $603,000 in disputed fees had been deposited in an escrow account by WM, formally known as Waste Management, while the lawsuit made its way through the courts. WM operates the Eco-Vista Landfill, which collects most waste generated in Northwest Arkansas.
Threet’s order said $98,000 was released to the Benton County district by an earlier order, leaving about $505,000 in escrow. Threet ordered the Benton County district should receive about $203,000 of that amount and the Boston Mountain district about $301,000.
The Boston Mountain Solid Waste District did not answer an email nor three phone calls by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“It’s just obviously a flaw in the law,” Bland said. “We’re at a complete economic disadvantage because we’re receiving half of our fees, while they’re getting 100% of their fees and half of our fees.”