TRAVERSE CITY,
Mich. (AP) - Great Lakes regional leaders will meet next month to consider a
federal strategy for preventing Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan and
discuss helping foot the bill for the pricey project, officials said Friday.
Representatives of
the eight states and two Canadian provinces within the Great Lakes and St.
Lawrence River watershed are scheduled to gather July 16-17 in Chicago,
where they will discuss a plan devised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for
halting the invasive fish.
It proposes
fortifying the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, with devices
such as loudspeakers, electric cables and air bubble curtains. The location
on the Des Plaines River is a choke point in a network of rivers and canals
between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River, which the aggressive carp have
overrun.
“We need to move
quickly,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during a conference of the
region’s governors and premiers in Milwaukee, adding that the lakes would
pay “an enormous price” if the carp breach defenses and become established
in the lakes. “We have to make sure we have a barrier that is impenetrable.”
Scientists say the
carp could out-compete native fish and upend the aquatic ecosystem by
gobbling up tiny plants and animals at the base of food chains.
The Great Lakes
states at times have been at odds over how to block the carps’ path, even
battling in court over whether to build structures that would seal off Lake
Michigan from infested waters downstream. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said at the
gathering Friday he still prefers physical separation, which Illinois
opposes, contending it would disrupt commercial vessel traffic on the busy
waterway.
The Brandon Road
upgrade is considered a compromise that would buy time to seek more
comprehensive solutions, although it wouldn’t happen quickly: The target
date for completion is March 2027.
A potential hang-up
is the price tag, which the Army Corps estimates at $778 million to $832
million, depending on the installation timetable. The Corps generally
requires non-federal partners to pay 35 percent of a project’s construction
costs.
Illinois has agreed
to be non-federal sponsor, at least during the design and preconstruction
phase. But Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he wants neighboring states to pitch
in.
The July meeting
will be crucial in determining whether there is region-wide support for the
Brandon Road plan, said Loren Wobig, water resources director for the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“We don’t want to
agree to something with the Corps and have another state come and sue
because they disagree with that,” Wobig said, adding that he was optimistic
about prospects for a deal. “I don’t think there’s any disagreement about
wanting to move forward with doing something” at Brandon Road.
Michigan has
offered to contribute $8 million of the costs for the preconstruction phase,
estimated at $29 million over three years.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony
Evers said he was looking forward to the Chicago meeting.
“Certainly
Wisconsin has a lot to lose by not discussing this issue head-on,” he said.
Environmental
groups urged the states to cooperate on Brandon Road.
“We’ve got a plan
that’s been through the wringer repeatedly and been sent to Congress,” said
Joel Brammeier of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “I hope the states sit
in that room and move forward in unison.”
During their
Milwaukee conference, the governors and premiers group also endorsed a
series of steps to protect the region’s environment and boost economic
growth.
They included a
pledge of cooperation on dealing with water contaminants such as lead and
toxic chemicals known as PFAS; a marketing initiative to boost the regional
cruising industry; support for federal funding of a new navigational lock at
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; efforts to double maritime trade with Europe;
and boosting private investment in environmental improvements.