City of Los Angeles v. County of Kern

ORDER RE: PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs have filed motions for preliminary injunctions against enforcement of Measure E, a ballot initiative enacted by Defendants Kern County and Kern County Board of Supervisors (collectively “Kern”) after a campaign that Included entreaties to keep “Los Angeles” sludge out of Kern County, and with a stated purpose of guarding against a “loss of confidence” in Kern County agricultural products. Measure E is Kerris third' — and most stringent — attempt since 1998 to regulate the land application of sewage treatment residues called “sludge” or “biosolids,” a practice in which Plaintiffs are directly or indirectly engaged. While earlier regulations limited the pathogen content of biosolids that could permissibly be applied to land, Measure E bans land application outright.

The Court concludes the outright ban is likely to impermissibly discriminate against interstate commerce because it was enacted in part for the purpose of protecting the reputation of Kerris agricultural products and specifically to exclude out-of-county biosolid commerce. Measure E is also likely to be preempted by state law because it thwarts recycling…