The Save the Plastic Bag Coalition has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to overturn a ban in San Luis Obispo County, California.
The suit was filed Jan. 30 in Superior Court of California against the county's Integrated Waste Management Authority.
The ban, approved Jan. 11, is set to go into effect Oct. 1 in unincorporated areas and the county's seven cities: San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Pismo Beach.
The suit says the waste authority did not complete an environmental impact report prior to enacting the ban, as required.
In its lawsuit, the coalition pointed out that in a July 2011 California Supreme Court decision permitting the Manhattan Beach plastic ban to go into effect, the court said cities or counties larger than Manhattan Beach “will be required” to prepare EIRs before banning plastic bags.
The population of San Luis Obispo County in 2010 was 269,637, about eight times larger than Manhattan Beach.
The lawsuit also asked the court to set aside the Jan. 11 vote, contending that the vote of the board member who represents the Templeton Community Service District was unauthorized.
A hearing on the lawsuit has been scheduled for March 22.
Including San Luis Obispo County, 51 cities and 12 counties in the U.S. have enacted bans on plastic bags. In addition, Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Md., have a 5-cent fee on plastic carryout bags, and Basalt, Colo., has a 20-cent fee.
