February 26, 2015 — On Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., Michigan lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced legislation intended to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp. The bill was simultaneously introduced by Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Congressman Candice Miller, R-Mich.
The legislation isn't so much a specific prescription for solving the problem as it as a mandate for federal agencies — like the EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers — to get to work immediately. While the bill wouldn't allocate new funds, it would help clear bureaucratic hurdles and encourage federal officials to start working with state and regional entities to piece together a plan.
The name of the game remains hydraulic separation, keeping water contaminated with Asian carp — a term used broadly to refer to species including grass, black, ugly, silver, and bighead carp — from water free flowing into the Great Lakes.
That means locks and dams — both building new ones and bolstering old ones.
"We cannot afford to take a cavalier approach when it comes to protecting our Great Lakes from Asian carp," Miller said in a statement. "This destructive species is quickly migrating north, destroying nearly every ecosystem along the way."