Release Asian carp study, Ohio officials urge

The specter of the Asian carp infiltrating and ruining Lake Erie has unified elected officials from both parties in Ohio.

Both Republicans and Democrats are pressuring the administration of President Donald Trump to release a study of methods to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Attorney General Mike DeWine on Tuesday joined in calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release a past-due report on ways to prevent the invasive fish from infiltrating the Great Lakes by slipping past three electrical barriers on a waterway in Illinois.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ delay in the face of this immediate threat is unacceptable ... and could jeopardize the ultimate outcome,” DeWine said in a statement. Ohio’s U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, also are pressing for the release of the study.

DeWine said the study must be released immediately so a plan can be formulated to fight the silver carp, a variety of Asian carp that has overrun the Mississippi River. One recently was found within nine miles of Lake Michigan despite the electrical barriers.

Asian carp pose a threat to the Great Lakes because they could dominate the ecosystem and out-hunt native fish for food, potentially threatening the fishing and tourism industries. Lake Erie provides drinking water for 3 million Ohioans and provides 124,000 jobs and $1.8 billion in annual tourism revenue, DeWine said.

“If Asian carp are allowed to reach the Great Lakes, it may be too late to save Lake Erie,” DeWine said in a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers. DeWine, a Republican who is running for governor, introduced bills to help fight invasive species in the Great Lakes while he served in the U.S. Senate.

Brown introduced the Stop Asian Carp Now Act last week, with the proposed legislation targeted at forcing the Trump administration to release the withheld study on stopping Asian carp.

“We’ve got to double down on our efforts to protect Lake Erie and the jobs it supports,” Brown said. “That means staying vigilant and standing strong in bipartisan opposition to the elimination of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative proposed by the administration.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, a co-chairwoman of the House Great Lakes Task Force, joined a statement saying, “This is further evidence that action must be taken to protect our Great Lakes from this grievous threat. We urge this administration to release the (study) ... so we can move forward to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes before it is too late.”

Some members of Congress have called for placing barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal 37 miles downstream from Lake Michigan, a step opposed by Illinois lawmakers and shipping interests who say it would disrupt barge traffic on the busy waterway.

The Army Corps was scheduled to release an interim report in February on measures that could be taken to strengthen defenses against invasive fish at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois, several miles downstream from the electric barriers. But the Trump administration has delayed making it public.

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