By PATRICK FOX
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Lawyers for two sanitation disposal companies will appear in Gwinnett Superior Court at 9 a.m. Wednesday trying to stop implementation of the county’s new solid waste disposal plan.

The companies are seeking an injunction against Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, alleging the nonprofit agency in charge of administering the program has no legal authority to manage the county’s waste disposal service.

Attorney Roy Barnes, who is representing Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, said Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, aided and abetted by Gwinnett County, is depriving the two companies of their right to do business.

“I’ve never seen a county try to take a fellow’s business,” Barnes said. “It’s outrageous.”

Attempts to reach officials at Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful were unsuccessful.

The suit charges that the county cannot delegate legislative authority to a private corporation. It claims that administrative fees, which Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful will levy against customers, amounts to a tax.

The suit also alleges that in its request for bids, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful promised there would be eight service areas and that no more than one provider would serve any three areas. The agency later divided the county into six service zones and awarded exclusive rights of service to two companies with headquarters out of state.

In addition, the suit alleges, the bidding process was fixed in favor of the big companies from the start. Applicants for the service zones had to be able to post a $2 million performance bond, almost 15 times the $150,000 bond required to operate in the county currently. This, the suit says, eliminated the small haulers who had serviced Gwinnett County for years.

The suit is seeking to stop the county’s plan to implement the new solid waste program, scheduled to begin Jan. 2. It also seeks compensation and attorneys’ fees for the plaintiffs.