Dissent Rehnquist | End date 1992 | |
Full case name Chemical Waste Management, Inc., petitioner v. Guy Hunt, Governor of Alabama et al., respondents Citations 504 U.S. 334 (more)
112 S.Ct. 2009, 34 ERC 1721, 119 L.Ed.2d 121, 60 USLW 4433, 22 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,909 Prior history Hunt v. Chemical Waste Mgmt., Inc. 584 So.2d 1367 (Ala. 1991) Majority White, joined by Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas | ||
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt, 504 U.S. 334 (1992), was a United States Supreme Court case that held that an Alabama law imposing a fee on out-of-state hazardous waste being disposed of in-state violated the Dormant Commerce Clause.
Contents
Opinion of the Court
The state law was found to discriminate against out-of-state commerce. Justice White explained that "No state may attempt to isolate itself from a problem common to the several States by raising barriers to the free flow of interstate trade," relying on Philadelphia v. New Jersey (1978) as precedent.
Dissent
Chief Justice Rehnquist dissented arguing that States may wish to avoid the risks to public health and environment by regulating the disposal of hazardous waste. He continued to say that since taxes are a recognized and effective means for discouraging the consumption of scarce commodities, which he in this case had deemed the environment. Then there was nothing unconstitutional or discriminatory about the state of Alabama's taxes.