Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th), a long-time sponsor of legislative initiatives to protect the Great Lakes from the invasive Asian Carp, today made the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that $13 million in funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative would be made immediately available for emergency carp control measures:
 
            “This money comes at an extremely critical time in our battle to keep the Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan and protect its fragile ecosystem from a potentially devastating invasion of Asian carp.  The carp are at our doorstep, and this is an all-hands-on-deck situation for our environmental managers at the federal, state, and local level.  I applaud the EPA and its partners for making these funds available and ensuring that efforts to stop the carp can continue without interruption.
 
            “This support will allow the Asian Carp Rapid Response Working Group to proceed with measures authorized under an emergency provision that Senator Voinovich and I worked to secure in the recent Energy and Water appropriations bill.  Specifically, the Army Corps will be closing any alternative conduits the carp may use, especially in flood situations, to bypass barriers protecting the lake.  The next step will be to quickly examine and forge ahead with recommendations from our environmental team on how to permanently address the carp.  A comprehensive study of our options, authorized by Congress with my support, is expected to be released soon by the Army Corps, and I look forward to making its recommendations a top priority for Congressional action. 
 
            “I’m calling on my colleagues in Congress to support a request I filed to permanently extend the emergency authority Congress has granted to the Army Corps to prevent the spread of these carp, and charge the Corps with implementing the measures needed to secure the Great Lakes from this urgent threat.  The request was officially filed earlier this month for inclusion in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act, and I’m hopeful that members from all around the Great Lakes region will join me to ensure its enactment.  I also call on House leaders to schedule a vote on legislation I introduced, the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, which would ban the Bighead species of Asian Carp, such as the one recently found near Lockport, from importation or sale in the United States.  The Senate has already made progress toward bringing this important legislation to the floor, and the House should follow suit immediately.
 
            “Left unchecked, the Asian Carp could do irreparable damage to our nation’s largest and most important fresh water ecosystem.  I will continue to do my part in Congress to ensure those protecting the Illinois waterways have the resources and support they need to complete the mission.”
 
Editor’s Note:  Since 2002, Biggert, a long-time advocate for preservation of the Great Lakes, has championed funding and authorization language for electronic barriers near Romeoville, Illinois to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes.  Asian Carp prey on and compete with native species for food, living space, and spawning areas.  Individual fish can grow to between 50 and 150 pounds and eat up to 40 percent of their body weight every day.  Marine biologists say that if the Asian Carp enter the Great Lakes, they would devastate the ecosystem and endanger the multi-billion dollar Midwest commercial fishing industry.
 
For more information on today’s announcement, visit http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/911A7223FB88ADA18525768C00721FF8.  To learn more visit http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil.

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