In the case of St. Clair County v. Interstate Sand and Car Transfer Company, 1903, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of St. Clair County, Illinois against a company that was dumping sand into the Mississippi River without permission from Congress or any state legislature. The county had sued to stop this practice because it violated an Illinois law prohibiting obstruction of navigable waters within its jurisdiction without legislative approval. The defendant argued that only Congress could regulate such activities under its power over interstate commerce and navigation; however, the court disagreed stating that states also have authority to protect their own navigable waters unless there is conflicting federal legislation or regulation on point which preempts them from doing so.

In the dissenting opinion for St. Clair County v. Interstate Sand and Car Transfer Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to allow a county in Illinois to tax a ferryboat operating between Missouri and Illinois violated principles of interstate commerce. The dissenting justices contended that this taxation constituted an undue burden on interstate commerce, which is constitutionally prohibited under the Commerce Clause of the U.S Constitution. They maintained that while states have certain powers to levy taxes, these powers should not interfere with or impede upon free trade among states as intended by framers of the Constitution. Therefore, they disagreed with majority’s ruling permitting such state interference in interstate commercial activities.