As White House Holds Roundtable Discussion in Toledo About Health of Great Lakes, Brown Renews Call for Permanent Asian Carp Solution
Brown Has Pushed Administration to Move Quickly on a Solution to Permanently Prevent Asian Carp From Entering Lake Erie
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, as the White House holds a roundtable at the University of Toledo featuring Senior Advisor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Cameron Davis, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released a statement calling for the passage of legislation he is sponsoring, the Stop Invasive Species Act. The legislation, a version of which Brown passed as an amendment to the 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, would require the accelerated completion of an action plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through a number of rivers and tributaries across the Great Lakes region. A member of Brown’s staff will attend the roundtable.
“At its roundtable today at the University of Toledo, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House will no doubt hear from many Ohioans concerned about the health of Lake Erie—and rightly so,” Brown said. “The Great Lakes, including Lake Erie, remains dangerously vulnerable to an Asian carp invasion. Such an invasion would cause devastating damage to the Great Lakes—as well as to our state’s multimillion dollar fishing and boating industries. The Stop Invasive Species Act is a bipartisan bill that would ensure a definitive plan to permanently prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. We must move aggressively and quickly to protect our Lake, including, if necessary, hydrologically separating the Lakes from the Mississippi River.”
During committee consideration of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill last month, Brown introduced and the Committee passed an amendment—based upon the Stop Invasive Species Act—to help combat a possible invasion of Asian carp into Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. Since late 2009, the Army Corps of Engineers has been working on a study of the Great Lakes and Mississippi Interbasin “to evaluate options and technologies to prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River.” Recently, the Corps indicated this study may not be completed until March 2016. The amendment ensures that the Corps finishes this study no later than July 1, 2014, and ensures that the Corps is fully examining the feasibility of all options, including permanent hydrological separation.
Last month, Brown joined a group of bipartisan senators to introduce the Stop Invasive Species Act. The legislation would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to submit to Congress an expedited action plan with options for stopping Asian carp from penetrating the Great Lakes across 18 possible points of entry. The bill requires the Army Corps to submit a progress report to Congress and the President within 90 days of the law’s enactment, and the full plan would need to be completed within 18 months. Under the Stop Invasive Species Act, the Army Corps would continue to examine modes of transportation across key waterways to ensure shipping could continue while mechanisms for preventing Asian carp from destroying the Great Lakes are implemented. The bill is supported by the Great Lakes Commission, The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Healing our Waters Coalition, National Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited.
###