In the case of Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit et al., 1959, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a local ordinance that required ships to use smoke-reducing equipment while docked at port. The Huron Portland Cement Company had argued that their ship, which was federally licensed and inspected, should not be subject to local regulations regarding air pollution control because it interfered with interstate commerce and maritime law. However, the court held that this regulation did not interfere with federal laws or regulations but rather supplemented them by providing additional protection for public health and welfare against air pollution from ships within its jurisdiction.

In the dissenting opinion for Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit, Justice Brennan argued that the majority's decision to uphold a local air pollution ordinance against a federally licensed and inspected steam vessel was incorrect. He contended that this ruling would allow any locality to impose its own standards on vessels, potentially creating an untenable patchwork of regulations across different jurisdictions. This could undermine uniform national standards set by Congress under its constitutional authority over interstate commerce and maritime matters. Furthermore, he pointed out that there were no specific findings showing that the ship in question had caused or contributed significantly to air pollution in Detroit; thus, applying such stringent measures seemed unjustified.