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Show Chapter 3 Navigation "The power of Congress * * * comprehends naviga- tion, within the limits of every State in the Union; so far as that navigation may be, in any manner, connected with 'com- merce with foreign nations, or among the several States, or with the Indian tribes.'" 1 Federal commerce power over nav- igation includes authority to control not only all navigable waters of the United States, but also the nonnavigable reaches of navigable waterways and their nonnavigable tributaries if the navigable capacity of navigable waterways is affected or if interstate commerce is otherwise affected.2 Navigation has always been a principal use of navigable waters, and Congress has enacted numerous laws directly or indirectly relating to water-borne transportation and com- merce. For our purposes, those laws may be conveniently divided into four categories. First, we shall consider those statutes dealing directly with the use of waters for transpor- tation purposes. Next comes a large body of legislation seek- ing navigation improvement of waterways. We shall then examine a smaller number of statutes directed toward pro- tection of navigable waters. A few legislative provisions re- lating to international boundary waters constitute the fourth group. Wcrter-Borne Transportation In addition to its inherent importance as an integral ele- ment of our national economy, the transportation industry has 1 Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1,197 (U. S. 1824); see supra, pp. 9-10. * See supra, pp. 15-17. 73 |