State Supreme Court to Hear Sweet City Lawsuit Against Elbert County

The Supreme Court of Georgia (SCOGA) is scheduled to hear an Elbert County landfill case today.

Elbert County officials are appealing a lower court’s decision that allows Sweet City Landfill LLC to move forward with plans to operate proposed a 270-acre landfill.

According to a report on AccessNorth Georgia, Elbert County is claiming the trial court was wrong to rule that its solid waste management plan violates the Constitution, and wrong to deny its motion to dismiss the lawsuit because the landfill company failed to file it in time.

Sweet City sought a “local compliance letter” from Elbert County, which would state that the solid waste landfill satisfied local zoning laws and the local solid waste management plan.

Under the Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act, the local compliance letter is a prerequisite for then applying to the state Environmental Protection Division.

In November 2009, Sweet City filed with the County a document called “Application and Agreed Minimum Operating Conditions,” also known as a “Host Agreement,” which included a request for a Special Use Permit.

But when the County decided to go with another waste disposal company, Sweet City sued.

According to Sweet City, the County exempted Plant Granite from the County’s solid waste ordinance and determined it did not require a Special Use Permit from Plant Granite.

In October 2011, Sweet City and the County entered into an agreement to put on hold their legal disputes while they sought common ground on Sweet City’s Special Use Permit application.

At a meeting July 9, 2012, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners voted 5-to-0, “not to enter into a ‘Host Agreement with Sweet City Landfill, LLC” and to terminate the agreement to put on hold the legal disputes.

Less than three weeks later, the County adopted a zoning ordinance which would essentially preclude Sweet City’s planned landfill.

Sweet City apparently did not try to appeal the July 9, 2012 vote in superior court, nor did it seek further relief from the County.

Rather, in March 2013, it again sued the County, challenging its solid waste ordinance as unconstitutional for violating the Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.

On Sept. 11, 2014, the Elbert County Superior Court ruled in Sweet City’s favor and issued an order finding that the County’s solid waste ordinance violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The County’s attorneys argue the trial court made a number of errors, beginning with its denial of the County’s motion to dismiss the case.