Waste Mgmt. of Wash. v. Wash. Utils. & Transp. Comm'n
| Decision Date | 08 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 56291-0-II |
| Parties | WASTE MANAGEMENT OF WASHINGTON, INC., WASTE MANAGEMENT DISPOSAL SERVICES OF OREGON, INC., MJ TRUCKING & CONTRACTING, and DANIEL ANDERSON TRUCKING AND EXCAVATION, LLC, Appellant, v. WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, an agency of the State of Washington, Respondent. |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
Murrey's Disposal Company, Inc. (Murrey's) filed two complaints with the Washington Utility and Transportation Commission (WUTC) against Waste Management of Washington, Inc. (WMW) Waste Management Disposal Services of Oregon, Inc. (WMDSO) MJ Trucking & Contracting (MJ Trucking), and Daniel J Anderson Trucking and Excavation, LLC (DAT) (collectively, Waste Management). Murrey's asked the WUTC to issue an order directing these entities to cease and desist from engaging in the collection and transportation of solid waste from two paper mills in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. Waste Management appeals the WUTC's order granting Murrey's motion for summary determination and issuing the cease and desist order.
Two paper companies in Clallam and Jefferson Counties contracted with WMDSO to collect, transport, and dispose of their solid waste at WMDSO's Columbia Ridge Landfill. WMDSO subcontracted with MJ Trucking and DAT to transport waste-filled cargo containers by truck to transfer stations operated by WMW and others, where the containers were loaded onto rail cars for transportation via railroad to Columbia Ridge.
Under Washington law, an entity must obtain a certificate of authority from the WUTC to collect solid waste. Murrey's had authority from the WUTC to collect solid waste in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. WMW, WMDSO, MJ Trucking, and DAT did not have WUTC certificates of authority to operate as solid waste collection companies in Clallam or Jefferson Counties. Therefore, their solid waste collection activities violated Washington law.
However, Waste Management argues that federal law regarding rail transportation preempts Washington law because the various entities were providing train-on-flatcar/container-on-flatcar (TOFC/COFC) service that in part involved transportation of the solid waste on rail cars.[1] Waste Management identifies two sources of preemption. First, 49 U.S.C. § 10501(b)(1) states that the Surface Transportation Board (STB), formerly the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), has exclusive jurisdiction over "transportation by rail carriers" and that the regulation of rail transportation preempts state law remedies. Waste Management claims that "transportation by rail carrier" includes both the motor carrier leg and the rail leg of TOFC/COFC service.
Second, 49 U.S.C. § 10502 authorizes the STB to exempt certain services from federal regulation. An STB regulation, 49 C.F.R. § 1090.2, states that "highway TOFC/COFC service provided by a rail carrier either itself or jointly with a motor carrier as part of a continuous intermodal freight movement is exempt" from federal regulation "regardless of the type, affiliation, or ownership of the carrier performing the highway portion of the service." Waste Management claims that this exemption from federal regulation of the motor carrier leg of TOFC/COFC service shows that the STB has exercised its exclusive jurisdiction over those services and therefore that preemption applies.
We hold that 49 U.S.C. § 10501(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 1090.2 do not preempt Washington law regarding Waste Management's solid waste collection activities. Accordingly, we affirm the WUTC's summary determination order.
McKinley Paper is a paper mill in Port Angeles, located in Clallam County. Port Townsend Paper is a paper mill in Port Townsend, located in Jefferson County. Both facilities generate solid waste in the form of old corrugated cardboard (OCC) rejects.
Murrey's has a certificate of authority from the WUTC to collect solid waste in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. Murrey's previously collected and disposed of OCC rejects from both McKinley Paper and Port Townsend Paper.
WMDSO owns and operates the Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington, Oregon. In 2020, McKinley Paper and Port Townsend Paper contracted with WMDSO to collect, transport, and dispose of their OCC rejects at Columbia Ridge.
WMDSO subcontracted with MJ Trucking to collect and transport waste-filled TOFC/COFC cargo containers by truck from McKinley Paper to the Olympic View Transfer Station in Kitsap County (which WMW operates), North Mason Fiber Company in Mason County, or Union Pacific Railroad's Argo Yard in Seattle. WMDSO subcontracted with DAT to collect and transport waste-filled TOFC/COFC cargo containers by truck from Port Townsend Paper to the Olympic View Transfer Station or to North Mason Fiber Company.
Once the containers arrived at the Olympic View Transfer Station, North Mason Fiber Company or the Argo Yard, the containers of solid waste were loaded onto rail cars and Union Pacific transported them via railroad to Columbia Ridge under a contract with WMDSO. The closed containers were not unloaded during this process.
WMDSO has no authority from the WUTC to collect solid waste. WMW has WUTC authority to collect solid waste, but not in Clallam or Jefferson Counties. MJ Trucking and DAT do not have WUTC authority to operate as solid waste collection companies.
In July 2020, Murrey's filed two different complaints with the WUTC asking for an order directing WMW, WMDSO, MJ Trucking, and DAT to cease and desist from engaging in the collection and transportation of solid waste from McKinley Paper and Port Townsend Paper. The WUTC consolidated these complaints.
Murrey's and Waste Management filed cross-motions seeking summary determination. The dispositive issue was whether federal law preempted WUTC regulation of Waste Management's solid waste collection activities. The WUTC concluded that federal preemption did not apply. As a result, the WUTC granted Murrey's motion for summary determination and denied Waste Management's motion. The WUTC then ordered Waste Management to cease and desist from providing solid waste collection services to McKinley Paper and Port Townsend Paper.
Waste Management petitioned for judicial review, and the superior court transferred the matter to this court.
Waste Management subsequently filed a petition for a declaratory order with the STB, seeking a determination that federal law preempted the WUTC's order. The STB denied review because of this court's concurrent jurisdiction to answer the preemption question. Waste Mgmt. of Wash., Inc., & Waste Mgmt. Disposal Servs. of Or., Inc. - Petition for Declaratory Order, 2022 WL 331234 (U.S. Surface Transp. Bd. Feb. 2, 2022).
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), chapter 34.05 RCW, governs judicial review of agency decisions. RCW 34.05.510; Puget Soundkeeper All. v. Dep't of Ecology, 191 Wn.2d 631, 637, 424 P.3d 1173 (2018). Under the APA, we may grant relief from an agency's order based on one of nine reasons listed in RCW 34.05.570(3), including that the order is based on an erroneous interpretation or application of the law. RCW 34.05.570(3)(d). The party challenging the agency's decision has the burden of demonstrating the invalidity of that decision. RCW 34.05.570(1)(a).
If an administrative decision is based on summary judgment, we overlay the APA and summary judgment standards of review. Haines-Marchel v. Wash. State Liquor & Cannabis Bd., 1 Wn.App. 2d 712, 728, 406 P.3d 1199 (2017). We review an agency's summary judgment ruling de novo, viewing the facts and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Hamilton v. Pollution Control Hr'gss Bd., 5 Wn.App. 2d 271, 281, 426 P.3d 281 (2018).
Summary judgment on an issue is warranted only if there are no genuine issues of material fact. Id.
We review an agency's legal conclusions de novo. Pac. Coast Shredding, LLC v. Port of Vancouver, USA, 14 Wn.App. 2d 484, 502, 471 P.3d 934 (2020). We give "substantial weight to its interpretations of the law when subjects fall within its area of expertise." Id. However, "[w]hile we give agencies great deference to their interpretation of rules within their area of expertise, we may substitute our interpretation of the law for that of an agency." Quinault Indian Nation v. Imperium Terminal Servs., LLC, 187 Wn.2d 460, 474, 387 P.3d 670 (2017).
RCW 81.77.020 states, "No person . . . shall engage in the business of operating as a solid waste collection company in this state, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter." "Solid waste collection company" is defined as "every person . . . owning, controlling, operating, or managing vehicles used in the business of transporting solid waste for collection or disposal, or both, for compensation, . . . over any public highway in this state." RCW 81.77.010(9).
Here it is undisputed that WMDSO, WMW, MJ Trucking, and DAT had no authority from the WUTC to collect solid waste in Clallam or Jefferson Counties. Therefore, these entities violated RCW 81.77.040 by collecting solid waste from McKinley Paper and Port Townsend Paper and transporting that waste...
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