Carp News From D.C: Can it Be?

Tammy Scott: Garner Beauty ~Enlarge

This could be another feint:

Jim Farrell, executive director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Infrastructure Council, said his group opposes the permanent lock closures states like Michigan have asked for because it would cut off Illinois portages from the Great Lakes.

But if the connections between the two watersheds were to be permanently severed upstream from the locks and canals surrounding Chicago, Farrell said shipping interests could receive the unimpeded access to Chicago they need while also preventing the invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

The question to answer: how far upstream? Below or above where Asian carp have been found?

Sen. Debbie Stabenow's opening statement at today's Congressional hearing is here.

Comments

Flooding south of Chicago

Submitted by Brian Creek on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 20:43.

Bayh has a point about flooding (not sure there is enough legitimate commerce to justify the costs involved in providing shipping access, but he is looking for a new job now.) IIRC, The Grand Calumet historically flooded huge sections of Gary. Was described as more of a bayou than a river at the Broadway Bridge when it was in spate. Cutting the channel through to the big lake was seen as a real boon in an era when one of the greatest wetland complexes on the continent was drained in the name of "Progress."

Wouldn't it be great if some of the many brownfields in that area could be turned into constructed wetlands to moderate flooding and filter run-off before it hit Lake Michigan? Seperate the lakes and the Mississippi, get rid of dangerous eyesores, restore wetland function. Win-win-win.

—

What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? Henry David Thoreau

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Comments

Flooding south of Chicago