With the recent county commissioner’s meeting (and the wonderful job the TV news has done on reporting on the issue), it seems like it’s time to talk about trash again.
First- some history:
Thinking About Garbage
The green box issue – cutting down access to garbage removal services – in Lincoln County has me thinking about garbage. Basically simple facts about garbage over a lifetime – there have been a lot of changes since 1960. In 1960 there was a dump on Forest Service Land for Trego residents – less than a mile from where the green boxes are now. It had the collateral advantage of being the place to find bears. It was, fundamentally, trashy – but the old open dumps were cheap and accessible. A half-century earlier, when Tobacco Lumber had managed the dam…
Keep readingOne of the questions worth asking is ‘how do you start a waste-management/trash hauling company? Well, under current law, you’ll need a “Class D Motor Carrier Certificate Of Public Convenience And Necessity”. To get that, you must apply with the public service commision. The guidance for that is here.
The commission will advertise your application in the local newspaper and bill you for it. Then, they’ll have you pay a $500 application fee.
You are required to prove that existing service providers can’t or won’t do the job. There is a good chance that your application will include a formal hearing (if anyone, anyone at all, complains about your application. Even if they later withdraw the complaint). The commission is required to make a decision within 180 days.
Now, if you’re reading through that guidance- you’ll notice this additional turn of phrase: “For purposes of a Class D certificate (transportation of garbage), in addition to consideration of standards 1-4, a determination of public convenience and necessity may include a consideration of competition.”
Don’t assume that means the commission is in favor of competition. Why do I say that? Past behavior predicting future results, and all that: https://fee.org/articles/young-montana-entrepreneur-is-being-legally-barred-from-hauling-trash-because-established-players-don-t-want-the-competition/
Trego's Mountain Ear 
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