Ohio Supreme Court Overturns Rumpke Case for Expansion

Date: September 5, 2012

Source: News Room

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Rumpke's landfill in Colerain Township cannot claim to be a public utility, which would have made it exempt from local zoning restrictions. The company adopted the public utility argument to circumnavigate the township's refusal to allow the company's $145.5 million expansion of the site which is one of the state's largest landfills. However, the high court did not address the legal issues surrounding the township's refusal.

The court said in its unanimous ruling that a private landfill is not a public utility if it sets its own rates and is not obligated to accept all waste delivered there. In doing so, it reversed an appellate court ruling in December 2010. The case goes back to 2006 when Rumpke sued the township for violating its constitutional rights by not allowing the company to develop the 350 acres of land it already owned. To bolster its case, Rumpke attorneys revised the complaint to include the public utility argument.

See also: "Ohio Ruling Exempts Landfills from Local Zoning; Deemed Public Utility," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20101221B.htm), December 17, 2010.

See also: "Rumpke Completes Purchase of Northeast Ohio Assets from Republic Services," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20090805J.htm), August 4, 2009.

See also: "Rumpke Sues Colerain Township for Rejecting Landfill Expansion," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20061226G.htm), December 20, 2006.

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