HOW Sends EPA Comprehensive Plan of Attack

Yesterday, the Healing Our Waters Coalition sent Great Lakes Czar Cameron Davis a comprehensive 12-point plan to halt the advance of the Asian Carp. We have to stop the fish from getting a foothold in the Great Lakes ecosystem and this calls for immediate action.

The recommendations are as follows:
- Temporarily close the locks leading to Lake Michigan.
- Stop reacting to each bit of news, instead outline the possible scenarios agencies expect to face in the near term and delineate what actions should be triggered by each event. (For example: how much eDNA evidence would trigger the use of fish poison?)
- Take steps to stop the carp from spawning this spring and Summer.
- Finish the Dispersal Barrier Efficacy Study by August. Immediately implement the recommendations from the study’s first interim report. Build barriers on the Des Plaines River and the Calumet-Sag Channel.
- Use full power when operating the electric barrier.
- Close the sluice gates at the Wilmette Pumping Station and install interim barriers in the Grand Calumet and Little Calumet Rivers.
- Strictly enforce the Coast Guard’s prohibition of ballast/bilge water transfers to and from below and above the electronic barriers.
- Expand eDNA testing and use eDNA results to make management decisions. The EPA reviewed and approved the eDNA method.
- Make resources and lab capacity available for quick processing and more collection of eDNA.
- Immediately implement the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force’s November 2007 Asian carp management plan.
- Use a Memorandum of Understanding between agencies to provide clear authority on instituting emergency actions. We recommend that the EPA take the lead role coordinating government action through the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force.
- Expedite the Chicago portion, including all National Environmental Policy Act requirements of the Great lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Transfer Study and complete it by 2011 instead of 2014. (That calls for ecological separation of the basins.)
- Finally, don’t forget to fully fund these actions.

The letter urges a “can do” attitude and points out that Congress has provided broad discretion to take action against the Asian carp. “To now claim that additional authority is needed seems to prioritize an overly narrow focus on process rather than on getting the work done with the tools the Congress already has provided. We will support legal clarity where needed, but we cannot support parsing of legislative language when the region faces one of its biggest crisis,” the letter states.

Asian Carp Summit Will Happen February 8, 2010

In response to the finding of Asian Carp eDNA in the Calumet Harbor on Lake Michigan, and the failure of the US Supreme Court to invoke an injunction closing the locks to help stem any carp advance, the Great Lakes Governors asked the White House to hold a summit. That summit will happen on February 8, 2010 at the White House, according to the Council on Environmental Quality.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will attend the meeting at 2:30 that day. As for the Administration, Nancy Sutley, Chair of the CEQ, officials from the EPA, Department of the Interior, US Army Corps and US Coast Guard will attend. Press will not be able to attend this meeting but there will be a press conference directly after the summit. It is hoped that the White House will come to the meeting with a comprehensive plan on how to deal with the Asian Carp threat in hand.

Pressure Mounts for White House to Make a Public Effort on Carp Issue

Editorials blanket the Midwest calling for President Barack Obama to step in and do something immediately to stop the advance of the Asian carp into the Great Lakes ecosystem. While the Administration has dedicated funds to deal with the carp and promised to meet with Great Lakes Governors the first week in February, the people in the Great Lakes region do not feel like the Administration is taking the problem seriously enough.

Read what the papers and people are saying:

The Port Huron Times News Herald:The federal government’s wrong-headed response to the Asian carp invasion of the Great Lakes is one for the books — the textbooks. It provides an illuminating lesson on why fair-minded Americans are right to question Washington’s ability to protect the public interest. Our leaders, including President Barack Obama and the U.S. Supreme Court, cynically rejected appeals to close a man-made waterway that connects Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River basin. In doing so, they ignored the warnings of our best scientists.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote: Meanwhile, Great Lake governors upset about the lack of responsiveness to the carp incursion will meet with Obama administration officials at the White House next month.But why the delay? President Barack Obama’s refusal to order the locks closed is particularly perplexing. Here is a pro-active Great Lakes president who committed $475 million for a one-year restoration initiative for our 10,000-year-old liquid assets. And yet he stands idle as its latest and greatest danger swims by. The only sensible and strategic response is to shut down the waterways that link the Windy City to Lake Michigan immediately. Spend the time leading up to the White House summit ascertaining where the carp are, and the most effective method of stopping them. Then implement the plan. Anything less is a gamble that could lead to the economic and ecological ruin of our most precious resource.

The Muskegon Chronical: “These discussions are good, but they’re having trouble keeping up with the carp’s steady migration into Lake Michigan — something that has been ongoing for at least three decades. It’s past the time for action.”

Every day we wait is playing Russian roulette with the Great Lakes,” Mark Smith, project manager with the National Wildlife Federation told the Detroit News.

“When that [prevention] fails, the history of invasive species has taught us you don’t have many options,” Marc Gaden spokesman for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission told the Detroit Free Press. “What we’re missing now is a directive from the government that’s equal to the push to put a man on the moon.”

Reacting to federal officials saying that finding carp DNA doesn’t spell catastrophe, Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United said to the Free Press, “There’s a whole lot to be done, and it should be done a heck of a lot faster. We can get hold of this, but the question is whether we have the willingness to do so.”

“This was supposed to be the Great Lakes president,” Wayne State University’s Noah Hall told the Detroit News. “I don’t think we’re seeing that. What we’re seeing is a Chicago president.”

While there could be lots going on behind the scenes to deal with this crisis, it isn’t apparent to the people or political leadership in the region. It is sounding more and more like folks in the Great Lakes Swing Sates are not going to be happy with anything short of an immediate temporary closure of the locks and maybe a mention during the State of the Union speech.

Capitol Hill Will Hold Emergency Asian Carp Meeting on Wednesday

Tomorrow at 9 a.m. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), along with other Great Lakes lawmakers, will attend an emergency meeting on the Asian Carp crisis, reports the Sandusky Register.

White House Summit on Asian Carp Could Get Crowded

Attorney Generals from five Great Lakes states have asked to be at the table when the Administration holds a summit to discuss the Asian Carp crisis. AGs from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin want a chance to express regional concerns over the carp.

“It is our hope the bi-partisan team of Attorneys General leading the battle to protect jobs and the Lakes will have a seat at the table with the White House to help find a solution to this crisis,” said Michigan AG Mike Cox. Cox has been leading the legal challenge to force Illinois to close the locks and come up with a permanent solution to keep the carp out of the Lakes.

After the US Supreme Court chose not to issue an injunction to close the locks, Great Lakes Governors asked the White House for a summit meeting on the crisis. Council on Environmental Quality Head Nancy Sutley immediately offered to meet with the Governors during the first week of February in Washington or the region. Since then the environmental community and Great Lakes stakeholders have asked to be included in the meeting, and now the Attorney Generals.

When discussing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, President Obama promised zero tolerance for new invasive species. Cox is now citing the President’s former quote while asking President Obama to have the locks closed while a solution to the crisis is worked out. “The Great lakes $7 billion fishery and over 800,000 Michigan jobs are connected to the health of the lakes,” Cox stated.

The letter requesting a place at the table for the AG’s was signed by Michigan’s Cox, Indiana AG Greg Zoeller, Ohio AG Richard Cordray, Pennsylvania AG Tom Corbett and Wisconsin’s AG J.B. Van Hollen.

Michigan Congressional Delegation Calls for a More Rapid Response to Asian Carp Crisis

The Michigan Congressional Delegation is “alarmed” and “dismayed” at the slow pace of the rapid response efforts to halt the progress of the voracious Asian Carp. In a strongly worded letter to the Army, Coast Guard, EPA and Fish and Wildlife Agency, the delegation wrote:

“We are very alarmed at the length of time it is taking to formulate a comprehensive response plan. The first positive detection of eDNA above the electrical dispersal barrier was in November 2009, with subsequent positive detections. We are also dismayed at recent comments made to the media that several hundred carp would need to be detected before the federal agencies would change their current plan of dealing with this invasive species.” All 17 members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation signed the January 21st letter.

In the letter, the lawmakers demand that the agencies submit a comprehensive rapid response plan to the Michigan delegation by the close of business on Friday, February 5th. The White House has agreed to meet with the Great Lakes Governors during the first week in February to discuss the Asian carp crisis and there has been speculation that they may reveal a comprehensive plan at this meeting. But the Michigan delegation isn’t leaving anything to chance since this situation is so urgent.

The letter was spurred by the new evidence of Asian Carp eDNA (or environmental DNA) in Calumet Harbor, the mouth of Lake Michigan. This is troubling since eDNA indicates the presence of live fish. The eDNA is cell tissue from the fish that breaks down within six to 48 hours, according to the Nature Conservancy’s Linsay Chadderton.

When All Else Fails, Turn To Congress

A Michigan Congressman reacted to the US Supreme Court’s failure to invoke a lock closure by introducing a bill in the US House that would force lock closure and further direct the Army Corps of Engineers to build barriers and conduct studies that would hopefully curb the advance of the Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.

Rep. Dave Camps (R) Bill, HR 4472 may be the next best hope to stop the carp momentarily while a more permanent solution to this issue is worked out. The studies called for would try and help the barge industry by abating any effects the closure might have upon them as well as consider any flooding issues that could arise from closure of the locks.

The Tugboat and Barge Industry is not happy and argues that thousands of local jobs would be lost if commerce on the locks were to stop. However, Michigan stands to lose 800,000 jobs, endure devaluation of property and the entire region’s $7 billion sport fishing economy is at stake.

In addition to this bill, Michigan still is pursuing a legal challenge and the White House has agreed to meet with Great Lakes Governors in the coming weeks.

Congress Takes Steps To Obtain Funds To Fight Asian Carp

A bipartisan group of Great Lakes congressmen called for the Office of Management and Budget and the US Army for Civil Works to ID funds that can be used now and in the future to fight back the march of the Asian Carp. Using words such as urgent and crucial the lawmakers told the heads of both agencies:

“Preventing the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes is an extremely urgent matter currently facing the Great Lakes region, and we are writing to urge you to identify the necessary resources to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. It is absolutely crucial that the Army Corps have the funds needed to continue its ongoing efforts to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.”

In particular, the Congressmen want the agency to buy enough fish poison to treat all of the waters beyond the electric dispersal barrier and to commence as soon as the weather will allow. They ask the agencies to be forward thinking providing enough funding in their 2011 budgets for fish poison and rapid response efforts. The agency heads were reminded that,”Congress authorized the Corps to take emergency actions, including piscicide use, to prevent the movement of the Asian carp into the Great Lakes. This one-year authority was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Act.”

The letter was signed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.).

Great Lakes Stakeholders Ask CEQ to Include Them In Asian Carp Strategy Session

Within 24 hours of Great Lakes Governors request for a White House Summit on Asian Carp, CEQ Head Nancy Sutley agreed to a meeting the first week of February. Now, HOW and other Great Lakes stakeholders are sending a letter to the White House asking to be included in the meeting.

It is essential that our entire region, our entire community be involved in creating a successful battle plan to prevent the Asian Carp from gaining a foothold in the Great Lakes.

Sutley’s invitation was extended to the Great Lakes Governors and their “designees” with the purpose of the meeting to “discuss the strategy to combat the spread of Asian carp and ensure coordination and the most effective response across all levels of government to respond to this threat.” She also invoked the great tradition we have of “regional cooperation” and asked for suggestions on how to continue this partnership.

HOW, along with numerous other Great Lakes stakeholders, have put our suggestion in writing – invite us to the war room – let us sit at the strategy-making table. Each group signing this letter has played a significant role in protecting the lakes and in trying to restore them.

“We again sincerely request a broad meeting where key stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and tribal municipal officials, can come together around an immediate plan of action that will stop the Asian carp and protect the Great Lakes.”

If you want to sign onto this letter, please contact hillj@nwf.org with your name, title, organization name no later than 3pm tomorrow.

White House Puts Asian Carp Summit Off Until February

Yesterday, HOW learned from the White House that they would welcome a meeting with the Great Lakes Governors to discuss the Asian carp threat, but last night E&E News reported that such a meeting wouldn’t happen before February.

After the US Supreme Court failed to invoke an injunction forcing the closure of the locks, and more Asian Carp eDNA was found in the mouth of Lake Michigan, Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Gov. James Doyle of Wisconsin asked the White House for an immediate meeting on the topic. In response, White House CEQ Nancy Sutley wrote a letter recommending a February meeting “to discuss strategy to combat the spread of Asian carp and ensure coordination and the most effective response across all levels of government to respond to this threat.”

So, what about the words: urgent, crisis, imminent threat doesn’t the White House understand? While we are grateful that the White House recognizes this is important enough to hold a meeting, it needs to be held today, yesterday even. President Obama can put a stop to this threat whenever he wishes. He is unlikely to close the locks (since his administration sided with Illinois on this in the courts), but he could call for a permanent separation of the basins. Perhaps he can be persuaded by the Great Lakes Governors. It has been said that this President likes to consider all aspects of a problem and even has staffers take various positions and debate in front of him to help him make decisions. So, Mr. President, lets have a good, old fashioned debate over the best solutions to solving this problem before it is too late. I can pretty much guarantee that the Asian carp will not win – they are bad for the ecosystem and very bad for the economy. Please do something before it is too late.