Michigan, Illinois announce bid to use federal aid to fight Asian carp
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday joined Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to announce an agreement that will use millions of federal dollars to bolster a lock and dam system to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will team up for the neighboring state to spend up to $8 million appropriated in 2018 by the Michigan Legislature to support the pre-construction engineering and design phase of the Brandon Road Ecosystem Project, according to a news release by the Illinois and Michigan agencies.
AP Environmental Writer
ASIAN CARP, jolted by an electric current from a research boat, jump from the Illinois River near Havana, Ill., in June 2012. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File)
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) Michigan, Illinois and a federal agency have agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by strengthening defenses on a Chicago-area waterway, officials said Thursday.
The two states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will share pre-construction engineering and design costs for the $858 million project at Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The structure on the Des Plaines River is a choke point between the Illinois River, which is infested with the invasive carp, and Lake Michigan.
Grand Rapids Business Journal
TRAVERSE CITY Michigan, Illinois and a federal agency agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by strengthening defenses on a Chicago-area waterway, officials said Thursday.
The two states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will share preconstruction engineering and design costs for the $858 million project at Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The structure on the Des Plaines River is a chokepoint between the Illinois River, which is infested with the invasive carp, and Lake Michigan.
A plan approved by the Corps in 2019 calls for installing a gantlet of technologies to deter approaching fish, including electric barriers and underwater speakers that would blast loud noises, plus an “air bubble curtain.” A specially designed “flushing lock” would wash away carp that might be floating on the water as vessels pass through.
Illinois agrees to use Michigan’s $8M toward Asian carp gauntlet
Updated Jan 08, 2021;
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LANSING, MI Construction of a gauntlet meant to keep invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes took a leap toward reality this week with an announcement that Illinois will fund initial costs using $8 million from the state of Michigan.
Illinois has agreed to pay $10.5 million in design and engineering costs toward fortifying the Brandon Road Lock & Dam on the Des Plaines River, a chokepoint in the Chicago area waterway system that would be the last line of defense against silver and bighead carp reaching Lake Michigan.
Jan 8, 2021
FILE - In this June 13, 2012, file photo, Asian carp, jolted by an electric current from a research boat, jump from the Illinois River near Havana, Ill. Illinois, Michigan and a federal agency have agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by upgrading defenses on a Chicago-area waterway, officials said Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File)
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) Michigan, Illinois and a federal agency have agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by strengthening defenses on a Chicago-area waterway, officials said Thursday.