Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/04/2012

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July 25, 2012 I Volume 6 I Issue 14 Zoning Bulletin Case Note: The Wedding Planners also brought equal protection and due process claims. The court found the regulations did not violate equal protection as DLNR clearly had a rational basis to regulate commercial beach weddings —given the large number of them —but to leave noncommercial beach weddings unregulated —given the relatively small number of them. The court also rejected the due process claims, finding they failed. Validity of tatute—Permit Applicants Challenge State Statute Placing Limitations on Size and Location of Solid Waste Landfills Applicants argue statute is unconstitutional in violation of the Commerce Clause and Contract Clause Citation: Waste Industries USA, Inc. v. State, 725 S.E.2d 875 (N.C. Ct. App. 2012) NORTH CAROLINA (05/01/12)—This case addressed the issue of whether a North Carolina statute that places limitations on the size and loca- tion of solid waste landfills violated the commerce clause and contract clause of the United State Constitution. The Background/Facts: In 2007, North Carolina's General Assembly enacted legislation governing approval of solid -waste landfills: 2007 N.C. Sess. Laws ch. 543 and ch. 550. The legislation, codified in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-295.6, included additional restrictions for landfills relating to buffers, height, capacity, and size. More specifically, among other things, under the law, the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources ("DENR") "shall not issue a permit" for a sanitary landfill if it is located: (1) within five miles of a National Wildlife Refuge; (2) within one mile of a State gameland owned, leased, or managed by the Wildlife Resources Commission; or (3) within two miles of a component of the State Parks System. The DENR also "shall not issue a permit" for a sanitary landfill that exceeds: (1) a capa- city of 55 million cubic yards of waste; (2) a disposal area of 350 acres; or (3) a maximum height of more than 250 feet above the mean natural elevation of the disposal area. These restrictions (the "challenged restrictions") applied to the permit ap- plication of Black Bear Disposal, LLC ("Black Bear"), a wholly -owned sub- sidiary of Waste Industries USA, Inc. ("Waste Industries") (hereinafter, both entities are collectively referred to as "Waste Industries"). After Waste Industries paid a $50,000 permit fee, DENR denied their application for a sanitary landfill permit. The permit application was denied because, among other reasons, Waste Industries' proposed sanitary landfill site did not comply 6 © 2012 Thomson Reuters