CRS Reports on Measures to Prevent Asian Carp in Great Lakes
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report to Congress entitled “Asian Carp and the Great Lakes Region,” which discusses measures to prevent movement and expansion of Asian carp the Great Lakes region.
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Controversy Over Asian Carp in Great Lakes Via Chicago Waterway
According to CRS, four species of non-indigenous Asian carp are expanding their range in U.S. waterways, resulting in a variety of concerns and problems. Three species -- bighead, silver, and black carp -- are of particular note, based on the perceived degree of environmental concern.
Current controversy relates to what measures might be necessary and sufficient to prevent movement of Asian carp from the Mississippi River drainage into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). Bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress to direct actions to avoid the possibility of carp becoming established in the Great Lakes.
The locks and waterways of the CAWS have been a focal point for those debating how to prevent Asian carp encroachment on the Great Lakes. The CAWS is the only navigable link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, and many note the potential of these waterways to facilitate invasive species transfers from one basin to the other.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has constructed and is currently operating electrical barriers to prevent fish passage. However, in light of recent indications that Asian carp may be present upstream of the barriers and in Lake Michigan, increased federal funding to prevent fish encroachment has been announced by the Obama Administration, and calls to permanently separate the two basins have grown. The potential closure of existing navigation structures in the CAWS and the permanent separation of the basins are currently the most contentious issues related to Asian carp control in the region, and a long-term solution has yet to be decided.
Court Action, Bills Sought to Prevent Asian Carp in Great Lakes
On January 19, 2010, the Supreme Court refused to order emergency measures sought by the state of Michigan to stop the migration of invasive Asian carp toward Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River basin via the CAWS. Michigan’s renewed motion for a preliminary injunction was also denied by the Supreme Court on March 22, 2010. In response to the Supreme Court’s denial, Michigan (along with Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago on July 19, 2010.
In the current 111th Congress, Section 126 in Title I of P.L. 111-85 directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement additional measures to prevent invasive species from bypassing the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project and dispersing into the Great Lakes.
Other bills have been introduced to list additional Asian carp species as injurious under the Lacey Act, and to direct various federal agencies to take specific actions to increase control over and restrict the spread of Asian carp.
(The Fish and Wildlife Service listed black and silver carp as injurious under the Lacey Act in 2007, which makes it unlawful to import, export, sell, acquire, or purchase these species, except by permit or scientific, medical, educational, or zoological purposes.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 10/24/07 and 07/13/07 news, 07102435 and 07071330, for BP summaries of these FWS listings.)
(Report dated 08/06/10)