Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 182.0

529US1

Unit: $U35

[09-26-01 09:32:43] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 529 U. S. 89 (2000)

107

Opinion of the Court

v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 504 U. S. 374, 385 (1992);
American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Central Ofﬁce Tele-
phone, Inc., 524 U. S. 214, 227–228 (1998).

From the text of OPA and the long-established under-
standing of the appropriate balance between federal and
state regulation of maritime commerce, we hold that the
pre-emptive effect of the PWSA and regulations promul-
gated under it are not affected by OPA. We doubt Congress
will be surprised by our conclusion, for the Conference
Report on OPA shared our view that the statute “does not
disturb the Supreme Court’s decision in Ray v. Atlantic
Richﬁeld Co., 435 U. S. 151 (1978).” H. R. Conf. Rep.
No. 101–653, p. 122 (1990). The holding in Ray also survives
the enactment of OPA undiminished, and we turn to a de-
tailed discussion of that case.

As we mentioned above, the Ray Court confronted a claim
by the operator of a Puget Sound reﬁnery that federal law
precluded Washington from enforcing laws imposing certain
substantive requirements on tankers. The Ray Court pref-
aced its analysis of the state regulations with the following
observation:

“The Court’s prior cases indicate that when a State’s
exercise of its police power is challenged under the Su-
premacy Clause, ‘we start with the assumption that the
historic police powers of the States were not to be su-
perseded by the Federal Act unless that was the clear
and manifest purpose of Congress.’ Rice v. Santa Fe
Elevator Corp., 331 U. S. 218, 230 (1947).” 435 U. S.,
at 157.

The fragmentary quote from Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator
Corp., 331 U. S. 218 (1947), does not support the scope given
to it by the Court of Appeals or by respondents.

Ray quoted but a fragment of a much longer paragraph
found in Rice. The quoted fragment is followed by exten-
sive and careful qualiﬁcations to show the different ap-