Thirteen waste transportation companies filed a damages suit Wednesday against a waste disposal firm in Fukui Prefecture and against the prefecture itself, demanding 2.1 billion yen in compensation for losses suffered after the prefecture shut down the disposal firm's waste site.
According to the suit filed with the Fukui District Court, Kinki Clean Center in Suruga, Fukui Prefecture, concluded contracts with the 13 firms to transport waste to the site without informing them that its construction had not been authorized by the prefecture.
The 13 firms involved in the suit are based in Fukui, Nagano, Yamanashi, Gifu, Aichi, Hyogo and Nara prefectures. According to the suit, the center told the firms it had applied to the prefecture for permission to build the 300,000-cu.-meter site and guaranteed they would be able to transport waste there at least until March 2004.
The prefectural government effectively shut down the site in August, two months after learning the center had constructed it illegally. Fukui Prefecture's decision incurred 2.1 billion yen in losses for the 13 firms, some of which went bankrupt, the suit says.
The suit also alleges that the prefecture was aware of the existence of the illegal disposal site long before deciding to close it down. The prefecture declined comment on the suit.