Also known as: flow control ordinances · flow-control ordinance · flow-control ordinances · waste flow control ordinance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A municipal regulation that requires all solid waste generated within its jurisdiction to be processed at a designated government-owned facility. The regulation receives lenient Dormant Commerce Clause review because it favors a public provider performing a traditional government function rather than a private economic actor.
Francisco Frost operates a construction firm that generates demolition debris from downtown projects. A city ordinance requires all such debris to be delivered exclusively to the municipally owned materials recovery center. Frost's prior contracts with out-of-state private recyclers become unusable. The ordinance survives Dormant Commerce Clause review because it channels waste to a public facility performing a traditional government function.
Flagship Logistics operates vessels that dock at the state port and previously contracted with private haulers for waste disposal in neighboring states. The port authority enacts a rule requiring all oily waste and garbage to be deposited exclusively at its government-owned treatment facility. The rule receives lenient review and is upheld because it directs waste to a public provider performing the traditional function of marine environmental protection.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
No. Such an ordinance receives lenient review because it favors a public provider performing a traditional government function. The favoritism is likely motivated by legitimate public objectives rather than economic protectionism.
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Lenient review applies. The ordinance is analyzed as a facially neutral regulation that at most incidentally burdens interstate commerce and will be upheld if it serves a legitimate local interest without imposing a clearly excessive burden.
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The concern about economic protectionism is reduced when the beneficiary is a public authority whose objectives are environmental management and public health rather than private profit. Strict scrutiny is reserved for laws that discriminate in favor of in-state private economic actors.
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Yes. The ordinance is upheld under lenient review when it directs waste to a government-owned facility performing a traditional public function such as solid waste management or environmental protection.
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…sites. Petitioners, a trade association and individual haulers, filed suit under 42 U. S. C. §1983, alleging that the flow control ordinances violate the Commerce Clause by discriminating against interstate commerce. They submitted evidence that without the ordinances and the associated tipping fees, they could dispose of solid…