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Dear Chairman Obey, Ranking Member Lewis, Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Member Mica:
We write today to express our extreme concerns about the spread of invasive Asian carp from the Mississippi River into the Great Lakes and respectfully request emergency funding of $30 million for the Army Corps of Engineers and related agencies to address this matter. As you are certainly aware, the Rotenone piscicide application last week has proven that Asian carp have indeed reached the preventative barriers. We believe the discovery of non-native invasive carp south of the preventative barrier, yet only 25 miles from Great Lakes access points, calls for immediate emergency action. If introduced to the Great Lakes, the economic, ecological and recreational damage these fish would create would be devastating to the world’s largest source of freshwater, and would be far more expensive than the $30 million estimated cost to stopping this invasion
It is our understanding that there will be consideration of an Omnibus spending bill as early as this week, in which we urge this emergency funding to be included. The two primary agencies responsible for the control of these invasive species, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, have both stated that one of their largest obstacles to addressing this matter, and to speed up the process of developing a permanent solution, is a lack of funding. As such, we encourage the Chairmen and Ranking Members to make accessible $30 million to the Corps, the EPA, and all other agencies responsible for the control of these invasive species, to combat and prevent the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes. This funding will be used to implement the Efficacy Study Interim Report Bypass Solutions, provide for further piscicide procurement and application, expand the eDNA validation process, continue work on an interbasin study, and other emergency actions as determined by the Corps.
Additionally, it is also our understanding that the Corps has requested additional authority to act in an emergency capacity in response to the outcome of their ongoing research and eDNA samplings. While the 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill grants the Corps the authority to take emergency measures to prevent aquatic nuisance species from dispersing into the Great Lakes until October 28, 2010, we strongly believe this time period should be extended and authority expanded until the Corps feasibility study on the spread of Asian carp, and the subsequent implementation of the recommended actions of the study are completed. We desperately need a permanent solution to the Asian carp immediately.
We appreciate your consideration in this extremely important matter. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Dave Camp
Member of Congress
Vern Ehlers
Member of Congress
Carl Levin
United States Senator
Dale Kildee
Member of Congress
John Dingell
Member of Congress
Sander Levin
Member of Congress
Bart Stupak
Member of Congress
Mike Rogers
Member of Congress
Fred Upton
Member of Congress
Pete Hoekstra
Member of Congress
Thaddeus McCotter
Member of Congress
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
Candice Miller
Member of Congress
Gary Peters
Member of Congress
Mark Schauer
Member of Congress
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