In 1998, the state legislature of Illinois added the Solid Waste Import Restrictions to its State Wide Solid Waste Management Act.

In 1998, the state legislature of Illinois added the Solid Waste Import Restrictions to its

State Wide Solid Waste Management Act. These new laws prohibited privately owned

landfills in the state from accepting solid wastes (e.g., garbage, rubbish, sludges, and

industrial waste) from any source outside the county in which the landfill was located

unless the county expressly permitted it. Point Arbors Sanitary Landfill, Inc., a privately

owned landfill located in Grace County in Illinois, submitted an application to the Grace

County government to allow Point Arbors to accept up to 750 tons per day of out-of-state

solid waste. The county rejected the application. Point Arbors sued the county and the

state in federal court, alleging that the Solid Waste Import Restrictions violated the

Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The state of Illinois and Grace County argued

that the Solid Waste Import Restrictions are necessary to public health because they

enable individual counties to make adequate and comprehensive plans for the safe

disposal of future waste. The U.S. District Court concluded that the restrictions did not

discriminate against interstate commerce and therefore did not violate the Commerce

Clause. The U.S. Court of Appeals disagreed and found that the restrictions were

unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. The case is appealed to the U.S. Supreme

Court and the Court agrees to hear it. What does the Commerce Clause require in this

situation? Do Illinois’ Solid Waste Import Restrictions violate the Commerce Clause of

the U.S. Constitution? Why or why not? Fully discuss how the Court would likely

analyze this case.