As Asian Carp Director Travels to Ohio, Sen. Brown Urges Obama Administration to Step Up Efforts To Prevent An Asian Carp Infiltration In Lake Erie
Asian Carp Director Addressed 11th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference in Toledo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown released the following statement as White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Asian Carp Director John Goss delivered the keynote address today to the 11th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference, which took place at the University of Toledo College of Law.
“The summer fishing season may be over, but the threat of an Asian carp infiltration is here year-round,” Brown said. “It is difficult to overstate the impact that such an invasion would have on Lake Erie and the Great Lakes, affecting our economic livelihood, our world-class fisheries, and Ohioans’ enjoyment of Lake Erie.
“There is too much at stake to not take action. That’s why I continue to support a physical separation of the Mississippi River basin from the Great Lakes as the best long-term solution to prevent the further spread of Asian carp.”
Brown is a sponsor of the Stop Asian Carp Act, which would direct the Army Corps of Engineers to study the watersheds of the Illinois, Chicago, and Calumet rivers to determine the feasibility and best way to implement hydrologic separation of the rivers from the Great Lakes. The study would address flooding, wastewater, stormwater, and safety concerns. The study would also look at alternative pathways for barge and recreational boating traffic. The bill would also direct the USGS and the Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor and survey the waters of the Great Lakes basin to identify additional threats from Asian Carp, and to identify means of prevention.
In December 2010, the President signed the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, which adds the bighead carp species of Asian carp to a list of injurious species that are prohibited from being imported or shipped in the United States under the Lacey Act.
In May 2010, Brown visited the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center to discuss efforts to combat Asian carp, and in December 2009, Brown signed a letter urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address the spread of Asian Carp. He helped pass the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, which establishes common stewardship goals for the Great Lakes and a common set of rules that will be followed by the eight Great Lakes states. He also fought to include more than $475 million in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget for Great Lakes cleanup, of which nearly $60 million has been devoted to initiatives aimed at preventing an influx of Asian carp.
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