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Going straight to the Supreme Court to prevent Asian carp from spreading out of Illinois waters into Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes. About damned time IMHO.
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Cox taking fight against Great Lakes Asian carp to Supreme Court
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to flex its muscle in the fight to keep invasive Asian carp from Lake Michigan. In a press conference this morning, Cox announced his intention to sue the State of Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to force them to close off waterways leading to the lake.
His move comes just weeks after authorities poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to halt the spread of the carp, which are considered a major threat to the ecosystem of Lake Michigan. That project produced one Asian carp above an electrical barrier designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan.
"With the finding of (Asian carp) DNA within 6 miles of Lake Michigan recently ... quite simply, now is the time," Cox said. "These agencies have not acted quickly enough."
Cox is calling for:
• Closure of the O'Brien Lock and Dam and the Chicago Controlling Works.
• Operation of sluice gates at Wilmette Pumping Station, the O'Brien Lock and Dam, and the Chicago Controlling Works to keep the carp at bay.
• Construction of new barriers to prevent the carp from being flooded out of the Des Plaines River and into the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal.
• A study of the Chicago waterway system to understand the number of carp and their location and how best to deal with them.
Cox said his lawsuits will be filed today and that he hopes that the Supreme Court will take some injunctive action before the end of the year.
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to flex its muscle in the fight to keep invasive Asian carp from Lake Michigan. In a press conference this morning, Cox announced his intention to sue the State of Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to force them to close off waterways leading to the lake.
His move comes just weeks after authorities poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to halt the spread of the carp, which are considered a major threat to the ecosystem of Lake Michigan. That project produced one Asian carp above an electrical barrier designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan.
"With the finding of (Asian carp) DNA within 6 miles of Lake Michigan recently ... quite simply, now is the time," Cox said. "These agencies have not acted quickly enough."
Cox is calling for:
• Closure of the O'Brien Lock and Dam and the Chicago Controlling Works.
• Operation of sluice gates at Wilmette Pumping Station, the O'Brien Lock and Dam, and the Chicago Controlling Works to keep the carp at bay.
• Construction of new barriers to prevent the carp from being flooded out of the Des Plaines River and into the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal.
• A study of the Chicago waterway system to understand the number of carp and their location and how best to deal with them.
Cox said his lawsuits will be filed today and that he hopes that the Supreme Court will take some injunctive action before the end of the year.