FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 31, 2014
NEW ORLEANS – MPP Toby Barrett will make a case for creating a permanent ecological divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River during Army Corps of Engineers hearings.
After releasing the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) in early January, a series of hearings were scheduled across the United States. The recently-added hearing in New Orleans coincided with a vacation Barrett had planned in the area. Seeing the possibility of presenting the case for his riding, Barrett signed up to speak at the hearing scheduled for later today.
“Asian carp are the greatest threat the Great Lakes have ever known,” Barrett said. “We need to do everything in our power to keep them out of Lake Erie.”
The GLMRIS report outlines eight options for artificial waterways joining the Asian carp-infested Mississippi River watershed to the Great Lakes basin at Chicago. The options range from the status quo with an electrical fish-repelling barrier to various permanent separation scenarios. The report has been more than four years in the waiting.
“Now we have the report in hand, we need immediate action,” Barrett said. “A decision needs to be made based on science, not on politics.”
He also outlined concerns about Indiana’s Eagle Marsh, which during flood conditions could allow Asian carp direct access to Lake Erie, and cross-border transport of live Asian carp for food.
A copy of Mr. Barrett’s submission is attached.
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For more information
Contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or 519-427-7828