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.).

• Posted by Tiffany Danitz Pache on January 21st, 2010
• Tags: Asian-Carp, Fish poison, OMB, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), US Army Corps, US Congress
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