Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn., 505 U.S. 88, 23 (1992)

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122

GADE v. NATIONAL SOLID WASTES MANAGEMENT ASSN.

Souter, J., dissenting

pre-empt them clear. See Rice, 331 U. S., at 230. The Act does not, in so many words, pre-empt all state regulation of issues on which federal standards have been promulgated, and respondent's contention at oral argument that reading subsections (a), (b), and (h) could leave no other "logical" conclusion but one of pre-emption is wrong. Each provision can be read consistently with the others without any implication of pre-emptive intent. See National Solid Wastes Management Assn. v. Killian, 918 F. 2d 671, 685-688 (CA7 1990) (Easterbrook, J., dubitante). They are in fact just as consistent with a purpose and objective to permit overlapping state and federal regulation as with one to guarantee that employers and employees would be subjected to only one regulatory regime. Restriction to one such regime by precluding supplemental state regulation might or might not be desirable. But in the absence of any clear expression of congressional intent to pre-empt, I can only conclude that, as long as compliance with federally promulgated standards does not render obedience to Illinois' regulations impossible, the enforcement of the state law is not prohibited by the Supremacy Clause. I respectfully dissent.

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