LRS South, LLC v. Benton County Solid Waste Management District and the Benton County Solid Waste Management District Board

Summary

The Arkansas Court of Appeals held that a solid-waste transfer station is not a solid-waste disposal facility within the meaning of Arkansas Code Annotated section 8-6-222 because a transfer station manages the removal, compaction, and transfer of waste rather than its final disposition. The court reversed the dismissal of LRS South, LLC’s complaint and remanded for further proceedings concerning the validity and application of a more restrictive two-mile setback rule.

Holdings

1. A solid-waste transfer station is not a solid-waste disposal facility within the meaning of section 8-6-222 because a transfer station manages the removal, compaction, and transfer of solid waste rather than providing for its final disposition.
2. The court did not decide the District's authority to impose the two-mile setback requirement independently because the circuit court's ruling on that issue rested on the erroneous conclusion that a transfer station is a solid-waste disposal facility under section 8-6-222.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a solid-waste transfer station is a solid-waste disposal facility within the meaning of Arkansas Code Annotated section 8-6-222.
2. Whether the District could apply its more restrictive two-mile setback requirement to LRS South's proposed transfer station.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded