Cite as: 511 U. S. 93 (1994)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
in-state solid waste. Ore. Admin. Rule 340-97-110(3) (Sept. 1993).1 The surcharge works out to an increase of about $0.14 per week for the typical out-of-state solid waste producer.2 Brief for Respondents 26-27, n. 16. This seems a small price to pay for the right to deposit your "garbage, rubbish, refuse . . . ; sewage sludge, septic tank and cesspool pumpings or other sludge; . . . manure, . . . dead animals, [and] infectious waste" on your neighbors. Ore. Rev. Stat. § 459.005(27) (1991).
Nearly 20 years ago, we held that a State cannot ban all out-of-state waste disposal in protecting themselves from hazardous or noxious materials brought across the State's borders. Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U. S. 617 (1978). Two Terms ago in Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt, 504 U. S. 334 (1992), in striking down the State of Alabama's $72 per ton fee on the disposal of out-of-state hazardous waste, the Court left open the possibility that such a fee could be valid if based on the costs of disposing of waste from other States. Id., at 346, n. 9. Once again, however, as in Philadelphia and Chemical Waste Management, the Court further cranks the dormant Commerce Clause ratchet against the States by striking down such cost-based fees, and by so doing ties the hands of the States in addressing the vexing national problem of solid waste disposal. I dissent.
1 The surcharge is composed of the following identified costs: $0.58— statewide activities for reducing environmental risks and improving solid waste management; $0.66—reimbursements to the State for tax credits and other public subsidies; $0.05—solid waste reduction activities related to the review and certification of waste reduction and recycling plans; $0.72—increased environmental liability; $0.20—lost disposal capacity; $0.03—publicly supported infrastructure; and $0.01—nuisance impacts from transportation. Pet. for Cert. in No. 93-108, p. 4.
2 The $2.25 per ton fee imposed on out-of-state waste exceeds the $0.85 per ton fee imposed on in-state waste by $1.40 per ton. One ton equals 2,000 pounds. Assuming that the hypothetical nonresident generates 200 pounds of garbage per month (1/10 of a ton), the nonresident's garbage bill would increase by $0.14 per month.
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