One of the earliest victories for environmentalists was achieved in Citizens Committee for the Hudson Valley v. Volpe, 302 F. Supp. 283, 1 ELR 20001 (S.D.N.Y. 1969). In that case, New York State was barred from constructing a highway along the Hudson River because necessary authorization, including the consent of Congress, had not been obtained for two structures that were to support part of the road bed—a dike along the river and a causeway linking the dike to an existing bridge across the river. The court found that congressional approval for both the dike and the causeway was required by the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. §§401 et seq., and that the additional approval of the Secretary of Transportation was required for the causeway before the Corps of Engineers could issue a permit for the necessary landfill. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's interpretation of the statute, 1 ELR 20006 (2d Cir. 1970), and the government's petition for certiorari was denied, 400 U.S. 949 (1970). Almost one year later, on Nov. 20, 1971, New York State Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller added the appropriate capstone to this clear-cut victory by announcing that plans for the Hudson River Expressway would be scrapped. N.Y. Times, Nov. 21, 1971, at 1, col. 1. However, the recent decision in Petterson v. Resor, 2 ELR 20013 (D. Ore. Oct. 4, 1971), rejects the statutory interpretation that was decisive in the Hudson River Expressway litigation. This decision indicates that the issue of when congressional approval is required for structures in navigable waters will probably have to be resolved by the Supreme Court or by Congress itself.