Flom Disposal, Inc. v. Goodhue County, Minnesota, et al.

This Court has recognized a narrow exception from the dormant Commerce Clause’s almost “ ‘per se rule of invalidity,’ ” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Tracy, 519 U.S. 278, 298 (1997) (quoting Associated Industries of Mo. v. Lohman, 511 U.S. 641, 647 (1994)), against laws that discriminate against out-of-state commerce: the rule does not apply if the allegedly burdened and the allegedly favored businesses are not in “actual or prospective competition,” id. at 300. The question presented is: Are disposing of garbage by depositing it in a landfill and disposing of garbage—the same garbage from the same sources—by incinerating it, competitor businesses for purposes of the dormant Commerce Clause’s antidiscrimination doctrine?