Federal Court Upholds Oregon Packaging EPR Law
The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has upheld the state's packaging waste law against dormant Commerce Clause and Due Process claims in a significant first-of-its-kind ruling.
In the first federal merits ruling on a state packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) law, the District of Oregon has upheld the state’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. The court rejected a challenge from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, which argued the law violated the dormant Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause by shifting waste-management costs to producers.
This decision is significant for clients operating in the growing number of states with similar EPR laws, including California, Colorado, and Maine. The court found that plaintiffs must show evidence of market-wide burdens or discrimination, not just individual producer compliance costs, to sustain a Commerce Clause challenge. It also validated Oregon’s regulatory model, where a state agency retains ultimate authority over the private producer-run organization that administers the program and sets fees. The ruling offers a potential roadmap for states defending these programs against similar legal challenges.
The decision is expected to be appealed to the Ninth Circuit. Producers should monitor the appeal and parallel cases while continuing to plan for compliance and assess how EPR costs are allocated in their supply-chain contracts.