PSC grants L and L certificate in Jefferson County, denies Broadwater portion and extends order deadline

The Montana Public Service Commission on May 5 approved part of L and L Site Service Inc.'s application for a Class D certificate of public convenience and necessity, authorizing garbage hauling service in Jefferson County while denying the Broadwater County portion for failure to show the incumbent carrier was unwilling to serve.

Staff attorney Pam Snyder Barnes summarized the record and legal test for granting a CPCN, explaining the four-part inquiry (fitness, public need, whether the existing carrier can meet the need, and whether granting authority would harm the incumbent). She told commissioners staff found L and L fit and willing to provide service in the requested territory but made no recommendation on whether L and L had demonstrated public need in Broadwater County.

Chair Welborn moved to approve L and L's Jefferson County application, deny Broadwater County authority, and extend the May 6 deadline for issuing a final order by 30 days to allow staff time to draft the final written order. Commissioners discussed evidence presented at the hearing, customer satisfaction with incumbent Republic Services in parts of the territory, competition versus public-need standards, and the relevance of a prior 2018 decision that subsequent commission actions superseded. Several commissioners praised L and L's fitness and the hearing record.

The motion passed on voice vote; the transcript records the motion as carrying (the spoken record shows the vote carried on the day of the meeting). The commission directed staff to prepare the final order consistent with the motion and noted the May 6 deadline was extended to June 5 to allow time for drafting and clerical work.