Byron White

“ Rather, it would mean that localities could not claim the regulatory authority explicitly conferred upon the States that might otherwise have been pre-empted through actual conflicts with Federal law. At a minimum, localities would still be free to regulate subject to the usual principles of pre-emption.
Properly read, the statutory language tilts in favor of local regulation. The principle is well settled that local " 'governmental units are "created as convenient agencies for exercising such of the governmental powers of the State as may be entrusted to them" . ”

“ Mortier nonetheless asserts that local ordinances necessarily rest on insufficient expertise and burden commerce by allowing, among other things, large-scale crop infestation. As with the specter of the gypsy moth, Congress is free to find that local regulation does wreak such havoc and enact legislation with the purpose of preventing it. We are satisfied, however, that Congress has not done so yet.
We hold that FIFRA does not pre-empt the town of Casey's ordinance regulating the use of pesticides. ”

“ The exclusion of political subdivisions cannot be inferred from the express authorization to the "State [s] " because political subdivisions are components of the very entity the statute empowers. Indeed, the more plausible reading of FIFRA's authorization to the States leaves the allocation of regulatory authority to the "absolute discretion" of the States themselves, including the option of leaving local regulation of pesticides in the hands of local authorities.
Certainly no other textual basis for pre-emption exists. ”

“ Agriculture Committee bill does not specifically prohibit local governments from regulating pesticides, the report of that committee states explicitly that local governments cannot regulate pesticides in any manner. ”

“ As for the propriety of using legislative history at all, common sense suggests that inquiry benefits from reviewing additional information rather than ignoring it. As Chief Justice Marshall put it, " [w] here the mind labours to discover the design of the legislature, it seizes every thing from which aid can be derived." ”

“ Many local governments now regulate pesticides to meet their own specific needs which they are often better able to perceive than are State and Federal regulators." S.Rep. No. 92-970, p. 27 (1972) , U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1972, p. 4111. To counter the language in the Agriculture and Forestry Committee Report, the Commerce Committee proposed an amendment expressly authorizing local regulation among numerous other, unrelated proposals. ”

“ Mortier, building upon the decision below, contends that other provisions show that Congress made a clear distinction between nonregulatory authority, which it delegated to the States or their political subdivisions, and regulatory authority, which it expressly delegated to the "State [s] " alone. ”

“ It certainly does not equate registration and labeling requirements with a general approval to apply pesticides throughout the Nation without regard to regional and local factors like climate, population, geography, and water supply. ”

“ These provisions reflect the general goal of the 1972 amendments to strengthen existing labeling requirements and insure that these requirements were followed in practice. § 136k. See Monsanto, 467 U.S., at 991-992, 104 S.Ct., at 2866-2867. FIFRA nonetheless leaves substantial portions of the field vacant, including the area at issue in this case. FIFRA nowhere seeks to establish an affirmative permit scheme for the actual use of pesticides. ”

“ The ordinance requires a permit for the application of any pesticide to public lands, to private lands subject to public use, or for the aerial application of any pesticide to private lands. Ord. § 1.2, 2 App. to Pet. for Cert. 6. A permit applicant must file a form including information about the proposed pesticide use not less than 60 days before the desired use. § 1.3 (2) , id., at 7. The town board may "deny the permit, grant the permit, or grant the permit with . ”