Question

Business law
2. New Jersey Landfills and "dumps" were rapidly being filled to capacity. land to create new landfills was getting more and more scarce. Environmental groups were protesting the creation of new waste facilities. the governor of New Jersey issued an emergency order banning any out of state residents and businesses from using New Jersey Landfills while allowing New Jersey residents to continue using them. the state of Pennsylvania and Delaware sued New Jersey on the grounds that the order was unconstitutional. Does the Constitution give New Jersey the right to protect its own landfills? Briefly explain.

Answer 1

New Jersey's ban on out-of-state waste had the effect, even if not the intention, of imposing on out-of-state commercial interests the full burden of conserving the state's remaining landfill space. As such, it was a constitutionally impermissible attempt by New Jersey "to isolate itself from a problem common to many by erecting a barrier against interstate trade.

The Supreme Court rejected an early attempt by a state to refuse all exogenous in Philadelphia v. New Jersey and the same applies here for state of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Applying a dormant commerce clause analysis, the Court ruled that New Jersey was violating the Constitution by requiring nonresidents to bear the full burden of preserving one of New Jersey's natural resources-open land suitable for landfilling. Under the Court's reasoning, New Jersey did not own that resource and therefore, had no right to hoard it.

The Court opined that bans such as New Jersey's cannot be likened to state quarantine laws, which generally survive dormant commerce clause attack. Quarantine laws, it said, do not discriminate against interstate commerce as such, but simply prevent traffic in health-threatening articles, whatever their origin.

So referring to the Constitution, the Court will revoke the order issued by the governor of New Jersey to ban any out of state residents and businesses from using New Jersey Landfills.