Silver State wins round in medical-waste battle

Republic Silver State Disposal Co. has won the latest skirmish in the trash war over medical waste in Clark County.

Republic Silver State was victorious in Monday's court battle initiated by a Houston, Texas, waste disposal company.

The hearing was the result of a lawsuit filed by BFI Waste Systems of North America, part of Browning-Ferris Industries, challenging Silver State's claimed exclusive contract to handle all of the medical waste in the city of Las Vegas.

BFI's lawsuit sought an injunction to force city officials to grant it a license for the collection and disposal of waste from hospitals and clinics in city limits.

BFI already has obtained business licenses in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Clark County, the legal action noted.

But District Judge Stephen Huffaker ruled against BFI, although he voiced concerns about the unusual nature of Silver State's highly profitable contracts with hospitals to decontaminate and discard their medical wastes.

Deputy City Attorney Bill Henry argued that the city should have the ability to control which companies are capable and authorized to handle and dispose of the potentially deadly medical waste.

"This is a fundamental attack on the best thing government does for its citizens," Henry said. "If we don't have the authority (to regulate waste), we're in trouble."

The lawsuit, filed through attorney Frank Cremen, states that BFI was recruited by "multiple hospitals" to enter Southern Nevada's medical waste disposal market.

Disposal rates for medical waste charged by Silver State's subsidiary, Environmental Technologies of Nevada, "are far in excess of those regulated rates that Silver State can charge for the collection of garbage, dirt, rubbish and other refuse," the lawsuit stated.

Huffaker was critical of the wording of the city's trash collection ordinance that gives Silver State exclusive rights to collect garbage while seemingly sidestepping the medical waste issue.

The judge suggested that Silver State intentionally worded the franchise agreement that way to allow it to charge extra for medical waste collection.

Silver State attorney John Moran Jr. conceded "it's not the best ordinance in the world" but argued it still gives local entities the right to devise their own disposal plans.

In denying BFI's motion for a preliminary injunction, Huffaker agreed, but chastised the city for "not being very careful in administrating those rights."

"I don't think a new entity like BFI should be allowed to come in and get started," Huffaker said.

Cremen said the next battle -- the one that may decide the war -- could be before the Nevada Supreme Court.

BFI, however, could simply give up the two contracts it has with hospitals within city limits and concentrate on the contracts it has with hospitals in other parts of Clark County to collect and recycle or dispose of medical waste at BFI's existing dump sites in Utah or California.

While BFI has been handling waste for the two hospitals in the city without a city business license, officials agreed not to issue citations -- carrying possible $1,000 fines and jail terms of up to six months -- until the court case was resolved.

It is expected that citations will now be handed out unless BFI walks away from the contracts or gets an order from the Nevada Supreme Court prohibiting citations until an appeal is decided.

For three years, until this spring, most of the medical waste collection and disposal in Clark County had been performed by a company called U.S. EnviroMed -- a recycling company that hospital officials said was about 25 percent cheaper than Silver State's subsidiary.

But U.S. EnviroMed closed in Nevada after it was learned that tons of untreated medical waste had been buried on company property rather than sent by train to a dumpsite in Arizona.

Since then, Silver State has been the only company licensed to deal with the trash.

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