From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
4:49 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Humphries Testifies on Asian Carp Threat;
Governor Says Federal Plan Falls Short
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Director Rebecca Humphries testified in Washington, D.C. today at a hearing of
the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water
Resources and the Environment, on what needs to be done to prevent Asian carp
from entering the Great Lakes.
Yesterday, Governor Granholm and other Great Lakes
governors met with Obama administration officials in Washington to discuss the
carp threat. The governor said a proposal unveiled by the White House
falls short of protecting the Great Lakes from the threat posed by Asian carp,
and continued her call for the locks in Illinois to be closed to protect the
ecosystem and the $9 billion boating and $7 billion sport and commercial fishing
industries that support the regional economy.
“I am grateful for the good deal of effort and
thought that has gone into this by the Obama administration, but I am very
disappointed with the proposal presented during the White House meeting,” the
governor said. “We have to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great
Lakes, but the proposal presented still leaves the lakes vulnerable to this
threat.”
The governor said she supports creating a physical and
biological separation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River
watershed that keeps Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan. She has called for
closing the locks between the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) electrical
barrier and Lake Michigan until that separation is constructed. However,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to continue operating the locks while
attempts are made to suppress Asian carp populations.
“While we did have some areas of agreement with the
White House, we believe that the plan does not adequately address the concerns
we have been voicing about the imminent threat Asian carp pose to the Great
Lakes,” the governor said. “I believe the proposal’s primary objectives
are not sustainable, and that this is a plan to limit damages — not solve the
problem.”
The only options that exist presently for fish
population suppressions in rivers and canals are the use of rotenone and crews
of commercial fishermen netting fish. To keep the locks open requires
frequent poisoning of the waters with rotenone, the governor noted, as well as
long-term monitoring. Neither option is a real solution, she said.
She also expressed concern that nearly 70 percent of the funding for the federal
Asian carp proposal comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an
interagency plan to target the most significant problems in the region,
including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution and contaminated
sediment.
“We are concerned they are robbing funds from other
vital issues we need to address in Great Lakes restoration,” the governor
said. “The needs we have to address environmental and sustainability
issues in the Great Lakes are paramount and a major economic issue for our
state.”
The governor and the Michigan congressional
delegation do support the administration’s multi-tiered approach to addressing
the Asian carp issue. They also support emergency measures to block
passage of water and fish between the Des Plaines River and the CSSC, and the
Illinois and Michigan Canal and the CSSC. Michigan also supports increased
research of the issue and construction of an additional barrier.
“I applaud the administration for its commitment to
construction of the second electrical fish barrier, separation of the rivers and
canal systems to prevent carp movement during floods, increased research, and an
aggressive public education campaign,” the governor said. “These areas of
agreement, however, are not enough to address this very serious issue
threatening the health of the Great Lakes and the region’s tourism
economy.”
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