A new federal law prohibited the use of various pesticides in areas with a certain population density near navigable waters. A city located in the southeastern United States was plagued by a sharp increase in disease-carrying mosquitoes. The city’s board of health recommended that all residential areas be sprayed with a pesticide proven to be highly effective against mosquitoes. Despite the fact that the federal law would prohibit use of that pesticide in these areas, the city council passed an ordinance adopting the board of health plan, relying on the opinions of several independent experts that the health benefits of reducing the mosquito population outweighed the risks of spraying. An environmentally minded citizen of the city brought an action in federal court challenging the ordinance.Assuming that the citizen has standing, is the court likely to find the ordinance valid? a. yes, because pursuant to the police power, cities have a compelling interest in laws designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. b. yes, because controlling health hazards is an integral governmental function. c. no, because it is superseded by the power of congress to adopt laws to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens. d. no, because it conflicts with a federal law that congress had the power to make under the commerce clause.

The power of the congress towards commerce regulation has been widely construed, hence there is a possibility that the Congress may regulate local or interstate activity, that may or in combination with other activities, have beneficial effect on interstate commerce. If the Congress are aware that chemical pesticide use and its pollution of water ways will be highly detrimental to the environment, this knowledge will be sufficient enough to satisfy the Supreme Court's established standards. Thus, the Congress is simply exercising their commerce power using the law. And under the Supremacy Clause, any local action or state that tries to disagree with an act of Congress considered valid is totally invalid.