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New push to prevent Great Lakes
invasive species
David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington Bureau12:36 p.m. EST February 26, 2015
(Photo: M. Spencer Green / AP)
Washington — Most of Michigan’s congressional delegation backed legislation
introduced Thursday to stop Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the
Great Lakes.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township,
introduced a bill backed by another 12 members of the Michigan congressional
delegation, and said it is aimed at protecting the hundreds of thousands of jobs tied to the
Great Lakes region’s $7 billion recreational fishing and $16 billion recreational boating
industries.
The Defending Our Great Lakes Act would give federal agencies “broad authority to take
immediate actions to stop the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species,”
according to a statement from Stabenow and Miller. “This legislation will also require key
agencies to work with regional stakeholders to institute long-term measures to stop the
spread of invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.”
In 2012, Congress approved the Stop Invasive Species Act, expediting the completion of
the Army Corps of Engineers’ report, known as the Great Lakes and Mississippi River
Interbasin Study.
“Finding a solution to the threat from Asian carp and other invasive species is not easy,”
Stabenow said. “Working alongside members of the Michigan delegation and a wide
range of stakeholders, including other Great Lakes lawmakers, our bill is our best chance
of halting these fish as they come through the Chicago waterway.”
Miller sponsored House legislation in 2014 to stop Asian carp.
“We cannot afford to take a cavalier approach when it comes to protecting our Great
Lakes from Asian carp,” Miller said. “This destructive species is quickly migrating north,
destroying nearly every ecosystem along the way. In fact, just this week, we learned that
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has identified nearly 30 of these aggressive
fish just south of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, which is why this bipartisan,
bicameral legislation I am working with Sen. Stabenow to advance is so important.”
The Defending Our Great Lakes Act would give the Army Corps of Engineers authority to
take short-term and long-term actions to prevent the spread of invasive species at a key
point near the western end of the Chicago Area Waterway System — the Brandon Road
Lock and Dam.
“Protecting the Great Lakes is personal to me and critical for our state,” said Rep. Debbie
Dingell, D-Dearborn. “It is also an excellent example of how the Michigan delegation can
work together in a bipartisan way. ... Just one Asian carp entering the Great Lakes would
have a devastating impact on tourism, fishing and conservation.”
An earlier report called for the construction of an engineered channel to put control
technologies in place like additional electric barriers, carbon dioxide bubble screens,
underwater sound canons and pheromones at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam. The
Army Corps of Engineers said in December they are evaluating which technologies will
be most effective at keeping invasive species out of the Great Lakes Basin.
“Most stakeholders agree that an invasive species inhibiting structure at the Brandon
Road Lock and Dam can and should be achieved as soon as possible,” said Michigan
State University professor William Taylor, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s U.S.
section chairman. “This legislation seeks the art of the possible by addressing the most
immediate opportunities first while not easing up on the pursuit of innovative, permanent,
long-term solutions. I commend Sen. Stabenow and Congresswoman Miller for their
unrelenting work to stanch the tide of invasive species that cost billions of dollars in
damage to the US and Canada each year.”
Separately, an amendment offered Thursday by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield
Township, to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species transported via ballast water
of seafaring ships was included a bill that passed the Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Committee with bipartisan support.
Peters’ amendment would require vessels entering the Great Lakes through the St.
Lawrence Seaway to flush their ballast water tanks before entry.
“The Great Lakes are an integral part of Michigan’s economy, supporting thousands of
jobs in our state’s fishing, agriculture and tourism industries,” Peters said. “Threats from
contamination and invasive species put Michigan’s economic and environmental health
at risk, and we must do everything we can to safeguard our Great Lakes for years to
come. This amendment will help protect the Great Lakes and promote a strong economic
future for Michigan.”
The proposal would require the Coast Guard to ensure that vessels entering the Great
Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway exchange their ballast water while still at sea
and flush their tanks before entry, which will help prevent invasive species from entering
the Great Lakes.
“Ballast is the leading way for aquatic invaders to gain entry to the Great Lakes. ... We
support Sen. Peters’ amendment,” said Dan Wyant, director of Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality.
Earlier this month, the Obama administration proposed cutting the Great Lakes
environmental fund — by $50 million to $250 million — for efforts to clean up pollution
and restore fish and wildlife habitats. Despite Obama’s request last year to cut lakes
grants to $275 million, Congress kept funding at $300 million.