BENTONVILLE -- An on-going lawsuit between two large waste districts in Northwest Arkansas will continue, at least for now.
The Benton County Solid Waste District Board of Directors on Monday confirmed a decision made last week by its Executive Committee to ask for a rehearing before the full Arkansas Court of Appeals on a ruling from the court last month. The three-person Executive Committee asked for permission to appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court in the same motion.
The board confirmation came via voice vote near the beginning of the meeting.
The Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, which serves Madison and Washington counties, is entitled to a share of a long-disputed landfill fee, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 29.
The Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a ruling by Washington County Circuit Judge John Threet that the Benton County Solid Waste District lacked authority to unilaterally supersede and replace its $1.50-per-ton waste assessment fee with its own 1-cent-per-ton waste assessment fee.
Threet found the Benton County district's imposition of a "service fee" in lieu of a waste fee was an attempt to avoid state law requiring the district share revenue from solid waste fees with the Boston Mountain district.
The Benton County district couldn't unilaterally reduce or replace the fees assessed by Boston Mountain to avoid the requirement to share the revenue, Threet ruled.
Appeals court judges affirmed the state's fee statute on solid waste disposal and transportation requires an assessment fee imposed on waste moved from one district to another be divided equally between the districts in the absence of an interlocal agreement between the parties.
The two districts have been engaged in a series of lawsuits since 2016 over fees levied on waste generated in Benton County and disposed at the Eco-Vista Landfill in Washington County.