Summits, Meetings, and Hearings

Jousma: Grand Haven Sunset ~Enlarge

As Asian Carp continue their advance to the Great Lakes, I'm struck by the number of official get-togethers of some form that are taking place to discuss what to do about this species, that never really wanted to be here in the first place. Keep in mind that most of the meetings are occuring after the discovery of scientific evidence that the carp are in Lake Michigan.  

A few weeks ago Illinois Senator Durbin held a confab in Chicago where he, with the support of the USEPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, rallied the Illinois contingent against the other states who want to close the locks leading to Lake Michigan.

Then there was a meeting in Congress last week - Senator Durbin had said that he wanted to meet "in the halls of congress" - where various members discussed ways to tackle the carp problem.

Next week comes the carp "Summit" with officials of the Obama administration hosting the governors of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The stated purpose of the meeting is  "to identify a rapid response to the threat of Asian Carp." Please note that the first evidence of carp past the electrical barrier designed to keep them at bay was in November, so any reference to "rapid" to describe this meeting is a bit of an oxymoron.  

In addition to "summits" and meetings there are hearings.

When an issue becomes a problem with a spotlight put on it, Congress likes to hold hearings. Experts and interested parties go to Washington to make statements and answer questions. The House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee will hold hearings on the carp issue the day after the carp "Summit."

At hearings, members of Congress get to act tough or defend a constituency or special interest, but that's about it. At least there is a public airing of the issue but not much comes from hearings that isn't already known.   

In an attempt to facilitate decision making, vs. meetings, the Healing Our Waters coalition has sent the EPA a detailed and strong set of recommendations on what needs to be done. It looks reasonable and well thought out.

But it is borderline tragic that this group needs to tell the federal government how to handle this crisis months after it surfaced. Maybe there will be another meeting to consider their recommendations.

Meetings we have.

The political will to make tough decisions to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species, ah, not so plentiful.

gw 

Here's a link to the Healing Our Waters letter.

http://www.healthylakes.org/great-lakes-congressional-watch/white-house-...