ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

February 18, 2000 9:40 AM, EST

The New Jersey Supreme Court temporarily barred the state Department of Environmental Protection from collecting a hazardous waste hauler fee that costs trucking more than $1.2 million a year.

The $212 annual fee for each truck is the subject of a legal challenge begun by American Trucking Associations in 1992 ("N.J. Will Seek Lapsed Charges In Restoring Hazmat Hauling Fee," 1-17, p. 5).

Despite the ongoing legal battle, the state in December asked carriers to pay the registration fee by July. New Jersey environmental officials also said they planned to begin billing in May for two years’ worth of back payments that were not collected due to the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court stopped the state’s plans by granting an ATA petition that the fees be put on hold until the court decides the larger issue of the constitutionality of the fees.

ATA and the state presented oral arguments to the court Feb. 2, and the case is expected to be decided in the next few months.