Solid Waste Services of WV v. Public Service Commission
Annotate this Case
January 1992 Term
___________
No. 20996
___________
SOLID WASTE SERVICES OF WEST VIRGINIA
Plaintiff Below, Appellant
v.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Defendant Below, Appellee
and
HALT OUT-OF-STATE GARBAGE, INC.
Intervenor
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Public Service Commission
M.C. Case Nos. 16014-TC, 18909-TP, 20313-TC,
17078-TC, 21265-TC, 20039-TP, 21297-TC, and 21283-TC
REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART AND REMANDED
_________________________________________________________________
Submitted: May 5, 1992
Filed: July 15, 1992
William F. Fox, Jr., Esq.
320 Godshall Dr.
Harleysville, PA 19438
for Appellant
Drexel M. Vealey
Public Service Commission of West Virginia
for Appellee
Larry Harless, Esq.
Charleston, West Virginia
for Intervenor
JUSTICE NEELY delivered the Opinion of the Court.
SYLLABUS POINTS
1. "In a proceeding for a certificate to operate as a
common carrier an order of the Public Service Commission will not
be disturbed on appeal unless its findings are contrary to the
evidence, are without evidence to support them, are arbitrary or
result from a misapplication of legal principles." Syl. Pt. 1,
Weirton Ice & Coal Supply Co. v. Public Service Commission, 161
W.Va. 141, 240 S.E.2d 686 (1977).
2. "The chief inquiry at a transfer hearing is the
ability of the proposed new certificate holder to carry on the
business." Syl. Pt. 2, Chabut v. Public Service Commission, 179
W.Va. 111, 365 S.E.2d 391 (1987).
3. In a Public Service Commission proceeding to
transfer a Motor Carrier permit, a carrier is "fit and proper" when
it has the experience, equipment, insurance and financial ability
to carry on the business that is being transferred.
4. There is no requirement that a hauler of refuse use
its own landfill; the two activities are different operations even
if they are undertaken by the same entity.
Neely, J.:
Solid Waste Services of West Virginia (SWS) appeals the
decision of the Public Service Commission (PSC) that denied its
application for a transfer of motor carrier certificates for
hauling garbage within Wetzel, Tyler and portions of Marshall
Counties from Eller Excavating and Hauling and Ma-reb Corporation
(Eller) to SWS. Alleging that the PSC's determination of SWS's
"unfitness" was both legally and factually incorrect, SWS appeals.
The intervenor, "Halt Out-of-State Garbage, Inc." (HOG) cross-appeals the PSC ruling that the SWS-owned landfill is not a utility
asset within the PSC's jurisdiction. We agree with SWS and reverse
the PSC regarding the transfer of permits, and affirm the PSC's
decision regarding its lack of jurisdiction over the landfill
transfer.
Solid Waste Services is owned by Pasquale N. Mascaro, and is one of several of Mr. Mascaro's companies involved in various aspects of the waste disposal business. Another Mascaro-owned company, Lackawanna Transport, is the owner and operator of the Wetzel County Landfill. Mr. Mascaro, without question, has the financial ability, equipment and expertise to perform adequately under the motor carrier permits. Mr. Mascaro disposes of garbage in over 30 localities, including one of the largest counties in
Pennsylvania.See footnote 1 The local authorities in each of these
jurisdictions are indisputably satisfied with the service provided
by Mr. Mascaro's companies.
James D. Eller and Yonsell D. Eller, Jr., are the owners
of Ma-Reb Corporation and Eller Excavating and Hauling (all
hereinafter referred to as Eller). Those corporations, together,
held the hauling permits in question. In May of 1987, Eller
entered into an agreement to sell the Wetzel County Landfill (which
it owned) to Lackawanna Transport, and (subject to PSC approval) to
sell its motor carrier certificates for solid waste collection to
SWS. On 5 April 1988, the Ellers filed an application with the PSC
for the transfer of their garbage hauling permits to SWS.
The PSC permitted HOG to intervene in the permit transfer proceedings. HOG opposed the transfer, labelling Mr. Mascaro as unfit. HOG was in a do-or-die political battle with Lackawanna Transport over the disposal in this State of out-of-state garbage in the Wetzel County Landfill. HOG argued that because the landfill is a utility asset, the transfer of the landfill to Lackawanna should have been approved by the PSC. The PSC staff
supported both HOG's contentions that SWS is unfit and that the
landfill is a utility asset.
On 30 June 1989, the PSC denied the transfer of the
permits, but the PSC declined to exercise jurisdiction over the
landfill. The denial of the permit transfer forced the Ellers to
continue running their transport business long after they had hoped
to be out of the business. The PSC staff then petitioned for a
rehearing on the issue of whether the landfill should be considered
a utility asset. The Ellers and SWS petitioned for a rehearing on
the issue of transferring the garbage hauling permits. After oral
argument, the PSC again denied the petition for transfer, but
decided to hear more about the landfill as a utility asset. After
holding two more hearings, the PSC affirmed its original decision
in a final order, four years after the initial transfer application
was made.
I.
The well-established standard of review for decisions of
the Public Service Commission is:
In a proceeding for a certificate to operate
as a common carrier an order of the Public
Service Commission will not be disturbed on
appeal unless its findings are contrary to the
evidence, are without evidence to support
them, are arbitrary or result from a
misapplication of legal principles.
Syl. Pt. 1, Weirton Ice & Coal Supply Co. v. Public Service
Commission, 161 W.Va. 141, 240 S.E.2d 686 (1977).See footnote 2
As a matter of law, we continue to hold that "[t]he chief
inquiry at a transfer hearing is the ability of the proposed new
certificate holder to carry on the business." Syl. Pt. 2, Chabut
v. Public Service Commission, 179 W.Va. 111, 365 S.E.2d 391 (1987).
The PSC's own rules state:
Upon an application for approval of the
transfer and assignment of a certificate or
permit, the certificate or permit holder,
i.e., transferor, and the transferee, i.e.,
the person seeking to acquire said
certificate, shall appear at the hearing. The
transferor should be prepared to testify as to
the nature and extent of his operation under
the certificate sought to be transferred that
he has actively been operating under the
certificate and that the certificate is not
otherwise dormant. The transferee should be
prepared to show that he is financially able
to provide the service, that he has the
experience and the necessary equipment to
provide the proposed service, that he is able
to secure proper liability insurance on all
motor vehicles to be operated,and should give
a general description of his proposed
operation.
10 C.S.R. § 150-1-26IV(b)(1) at 21. In other words, at the PSC
hearing the transferor is to describe what he does, and the
transferee is supposed to describe how he can properly provide the
existing level of service. This provision was designed to allow
permits to be freely transferred so long as the entity acquiring
the permits is capable of continuing the existing level of service.
Unless the PSC finds that the acquiring party cannot meet the
current level of service, the PSC has no grounds to deny the permit
transfer.
The PSC articulated three measures for deciding whether
to approve the transfer:
(1) That the proposed transferee is a fit and
proper person to hold the certificate to
serve the public as a common carrier; and
(2) That the proposed transferee has the
financial ability to provide the service;
and
(3) That the certificate is not dormant --
that the holder thereof (transferor) has
actively engaged in operation under the
certificate sought to be transferred.
William P. Hopsons, M.C. Case No. 16280
(1978).
June 30, 1989, Order at 14.
Although PSC's language is technically correct, the use of the term "fit and proper" does not give the PSC an unlimited license to inquire into every minor regulatory transgression of each and every Mascaro-owned entity. "Fit and proper" is to be understood in terms of the PSC's own rules.See footnote 3 A carrier is "fit and proper" when it has the experience, equipment, insurance and
financial ability to carry on the business that is being
transferred.
Thus, the evidence cited by the PSC staff and HOG has
little to do with the fitness of Mr. Mascaro. For example, the PSC
cites evidence such as an increase in the traffic visiting the
Wetzel County landfill since Lackawanna purchased it and the
effects that the landfill expansion has had on the surrounding
area. Appellee's brief at 14-16. Furthermore, the PSC cites the
fact that they received over 300 letters of protest about the
transfer. However, the PSC fails to note that most of those
letters were evidence concerning the HOG-Lackawanna dispute about
use of the Wetzel County Landfill to dispose of out-of-state
garbage, not a real concern about who collects local garbage.
While the HOG complaints may be legitimate concerns for the
Division of Environmental Protection, they do not (and should not)
affect the decision of whether Eller or SWS should continue to
collect the local garbage.
The PSC also relies heavily on a 1988 evaluation of Mr. Mascaro's long-distance garbage hauling operations. At that time, Mr. Mascaro's corporations were just entering the field of long distance hauling after the unexpected closure of a Pennsylvania landfill Mr. Mascaro had previously been using. The Office of Motor Carrier Safety, Federal Highway Administration, U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT), inspected Mr. Mascaro's
operation, and initially gave the operation an "unsatisfactory"
rating. The PSC relies heavily on that rating. However, the PSC
ignores the rest of the story. First, the DOT based the
"unsatisfactory" rating primarily on a lack of paperwork and
record-keeping under our onerous combination of state and federal
regulations. The DOT official, Dennis M. McGee, who conducted the
examination noted that it was not unusual for a new venture to have
problems complying initially with the regulations. Part of Mr.
McGee's job is to assist companies who initially fail his review to
comply with regulations. Mr. Mascaro cooperated fully with Mr.
McGee, and Mr. Mascaro implemented the recommendations and complied
with the DOT paperwork requirements.
The PSC's order acknowledges that all the evidence
indicates that Solid Waste Services has the financial ability to
perform the local hauling service. Similarly, the record also
shows that Eller is an active hauling business. That leaves only
to apply the "fit and proper" standard, which is really an inquiry
into the experience, ability and insurance capability of the
transferee.
In his dissenting opinion, Commissioner Casto correctly
applied this test:
. . . [T]he record also reflects favorably on
Mascaro operations in the local trash hauling
business, which is the authority sought in
this proceeding. The uncontested evidence in
the record indicates that the Applicant for
transfer is operating the local trash
collection for over 30 municipalities and one
of the largest counties in Pennsylvania and
that local authorities are satisfied with the
service being provided.
June 30, 1989, Order (Casto dissent).
The majority opinion, on the other hand, instead of
addressing the issue to be decided under the Public Service
Commission's own rule, namely 10 C.S.R. §150-1-26IV(b)(1) (1987)
quoted supra, uses the terms "fit and proper" to conduct a general
character inquiry into every alleged minor transgression of any
entity ever affiliated with Mr. Mascaro.See footnote 4 The Commission held:
In looking at the past history of the
Mascaro operations to determine whether or not
Solid Waste Services of West Virginia is a fit
and proper entity to operate as a common
carrier in West Virginia, the Commission must
consider the federal safety violations in its
over-the-road operations[,] the results of
Staff's investigations, the results of the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
investigations and environmental violations
cited by the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources in the Mascaros'
Pennsylvania recycling and solid waste
facilities. The history of and operations of
these other Mascaro Companies is highly
relevant to the Commission's consideration of
fitness and weighs heavily in the issue of
fitness as it relates to the proposed
Transferee.
June 30, 1989, Order at 18. This broadening of the scope of
inquiry, as a matter of law, exceeded the proper scope of the
Public Service Commission's powers. The evidence clearly shows
that Solid Waste Services has the ability more than adequately to
provide the trash hauling services for Wetzel, Tyler and relevant
portions of Marshall Counties.
Mr. Mascaro and his affiliated companies clearly have the capabilities to perform the trash collection service under the permits. Moreover, Mr. Mascaro has shown a willingness to comply with state regulation. In today's highly regulated society, nearly every large corporation has violated some government regulation. The fact that Mr. Mascaro's corporations do not have perfect records is not surprising, nor does it make Mr. Mascaro unfit. When Mr. Mascaro was informed by the Department of Transportation that he was not in compliance with their paperwork regulations, he improved his record-keeping. When he signed the consent adjudication with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Regulation, he did not admit wrong-doing, but instead acknowledged
he had a problem with some of his operations, and that he had to
remedy the situation:
Overnight, I had to instead of taking trash
ten miles to 100 miles, I had to trash (sic)
400 miles overnight without any notice. And
what happened at that period of time was that
this facility instantaneously became subject
to a new set of logistics and variables
related to the collection, processing and
disposal of waste.
Transcript, November 14, 1988, at 122.
Mr. Mascaro is not a fly-by-night scofflaw, but has, in
fact, invested substantial money in West Virginia. At the Wetzel
County Landfill, Mr. Mascaro has installed a state-of-the-art,
lined landfill in place of what was formerly a mere hole-in-the
ground dump. Not only will these improvements prevent future
environmental problems at the landfill, but these improvements have
probably ended over 15 years of stream pollution. This landfill is
now one of the top five landfills in the State. Mr. Mascaro's
operations are fully insured and bonded. Although his operations
have not been free from violations of the myriad regulations
imposed by local, state and federal authorities, he has complied
after being informed of his deficiencies.
The refusal of the Public Service Commission to grant the transfer of the motor carrier permits in question was clearly erroneous. As a matter of law, the Public Service Commission held
Solid Waste Services to an inappropriate standard. Accordingly,
the decision of the Public Service Commission is reversed.
II.
The issue of the Mascaro-owned landfill is not relevant
to this proceeding. Throughout these proceedings, HOG, the
intervenor, has tried to bring information not relevant to this
permit decision into these proceedings. Furthermore, the PSC staff
has gone along with this unnecessary expansion of the scope of the
proceeding by continually attempting to link the Mascaro-owned
landfill activities to the local trash hauling activities. The
consideration of a transfer of motor carrier permits is not the
proper forum to address the serious environmental issues that the
importation of large amounts of out-of-state garbage necessarily
raise.
Both HOG and the staff of the PSC have sought to have the Wetzel County landfill declared a "utility asset" so that the Public Service Commission will have jurisdiction over a transfer of this asset. However, the Legislature has made it clear in passing W. Va. Code, § 22-1-1 et seq. (1991)See footnote 5 that all environmental
programs in West Virginia are to be regulated by the Division of
Environmental Protection. The proper forum for arguing about
changes in the landfill regulation is the Division of Environmental
Protection, not the Public Service Commission.
The business to be regulated by the permits in question
is the business of hauling refuse. The landfill is appropriately
regulated by the County Commission and the Division of
Environmental Protection. There is no requirement that a hauler of
refuse use his own landfill; the two activities are different
operations even if undertaken by the same entity. The Public
Service Commission correctly held:
The certificates in question in this case
gave the Ellers authority to transport trash,
rubbish and garbage. The Ellers' operation of
the landfill did not arise out of authority
granted by the Public Service Commission, the
landfill was not exclusively used by Eller
Excavating, the operation of the landfill was
not allocated to the rates being charged and
the landfill has not in the past or at the
time of application been treated or defined as
a public utility under West Virginia's public
utility law. Accordingly, the Commission
finds that the landfill is not a utility asset
of the Eller collection companies subject to
the jurisdiction of the Commission for sale or
transfer. [Emphasis added]
June 30, 1989, Order at 19.
Although we are sympathetic to HOG's overall cause,See footnote 6 the
granting or denial of the transfer of the motor carrier permits
will not in any way affect the volume of trash being brought into
the landfill. The present case concerns an active local trash
collection permit. Indeed, all that would change if the transfer
were granted is the name on the truck. Granting the transfer will
not open the door to more out-of-state garbage; denying the permit
will not lessen the amount of garbage being brought to the
landfill.
III.
For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the Public
Service Commission regarding the transfer of the Eller permits is
reversed; the decision of the Public Service Commission about its
lack of jurisdiction over the landfill is affirmed, and the case is
remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed in part,
Affirmed in part
and Remanded.
Footnote: 1Those localities are: Montgomery County, Abington,
Cheltenham, Springfield, Upper Dublin, Whitemarsh, Jenkintown,
Rockledge, Lower Moreland, Lower Southampton, Upper Southampton,
Bristol, Ambler, Phoenixville, Norristown, Allentown, Emmaus,
Northampton, Catasqua, North Catasqua, Sellersville, Perkasie,
Quakertown, Hellertown, East Stroudsburg, Jessup, Olyphant, Avoca,
Whitehaven, Mount Pocono, Carbondale, Troope, Lower Mount Bethel,
Upper Mount Bethel, and Chestnut Hill.
Footnote: 2Because we are, in fact, deciding the issue of whether the
certificates should be transferred and the question of whether the
landfill is an asset of the hauling company on their merits, we
find no merit to the intervenor's motion to dismiss the certificate
transfer appeal.
Footnote: 310 C.S.R. § 150-1-26IV(b)(1) at 21, quoted supra.
Footnote: 4In support of this exceptionally broad inquiry, the Public
Service Commission cites Browning-Ferris Industries v. Public
Service Commission, 175 W.Va. 52, 330 S.E.2d 862 (1985) (per
curiam) and Stephens v. Public Service Commission, 177 W.Va. 698,
356 S.E.2d 191 (1987) (per curiam) for the proposition that a
company that willfully commits flagrant violations of the laws of
this State should not be granted a certificate.
In both Browning-Ferris Industries and Stephens, the willful,
flagrant violations of the law occurred when the applicants were
directly competing with the existing certificate holders, and the
applicants attempted to rely on their ability to compete
successfully as evidence of "convenience and necessity" for the
granting of the permit. This Court held that those who willfully
violate the permit laws of the state cannot then turn around and be
granted permits based on their own violations.
Such is not the case here. In the first instance, this is a
transfer of existing permits; there is no need to inquire into the
public "convenience and necessity." Additionally, if any
violations of the law did occur (and it is not clear that they did)
those violations were not willful or flagrant. Furthermore, in all
instances cited by the Public Service Commission, Mr. Mascaro's
operations took appropriate steps to correct any regulatory
violations that existed.
Footnote: 5The policy behind the creation of the Division of
Environmental Protection is, in part:
"The dispersion of environmental protection programs across a number of state agencies . . . [has] led to fragmented, duplicative and
often inconsistent state policies relating to
the protection of the environment."
W. Va. Code, § 22-1-1(a)(4).
The Governor implemented this section through Exec. Order No.
8-92 (1992).
Footnote: 6We should also point out that the HOG goal of halting solely
"out-of-state" garbage has been found to violate the United States
Constitution by the United States Supreme Court. See Chemical
Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt, ___ U.S. ___, 60 U.S.L.W. 4433
(June 1, 1992); Fort Gratiot Landfill, Inc. v. Michigan Department
of Natural Resources, ___ U.S. ___, 60 U.S.L.W. 4438 (June 1,
1992). See also, Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U.S. 617 (1978).
Of course, if the landfill is in fact creating a nuisance to its neighbors, then remedies are available in the Legislature, the County Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Division of Environmental Protection, and in tort. The nuisance question has to do with the landfill as a whole, not solely the importation of out-of-state garbage.
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