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October 20, 1999 1:10 PM, EDT

The Research and Special Programs Administration struck down a state fee that costs hazardous waste haulers doing business in Tennessee more than $170,000 a year.

RSPA, the branch of the Department of Transportation that governs hazardous materials hauling, agreed with a petition by the Association of Waste Hazardous Materials Transporters that the state fee was unfair and pre-empted by federal law.

The decision follows previous government rulings shutting down local fees levied against hazardous waste carriers by states and municipalities across the country.

AWHMT, a conference managed by American Trucking Associations, petitioned the special programs administration in March, saying the $650 annual fee discriminated against interstate carriers because it was a flat tax charged to everyone no matter how many miles a company ran in the state.

For the full story, see the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .