Agencies Meeting On Asian Carp Control Efforts

Feb 3: U.S. EPA, on behalf of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, announced it will hold a meeting in Chicago on February 12, to discuss plans and get recommendations on Asian carp control efforts. The committee will answer questions and listen to comments from the public. A second meeting will be scheduled in the near future elsewhere in the Great Lakes basin.

Attending the meeting will be: Senior representatives from EPA; Fish and Wildlife Service; Army Corps of Engineers; Coast Guard; State of Illinois and other Great Lakes states; City of Chicago; Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Scientific experts. The meeting is scheduled for 3:00 – 6:00 PM, Room 331, Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., in Chicago. The meeting also will be available via live web stream (see link below). Those who cannot attend the meeting in person can submit questions on the website. EPA also said that, when available, the framework and a transcript of the meeting will be posted on the Coordinating Committee website (see link below). Comments on the framework may also be submitted online at the same website.

In related matters, officials in the Obama Administration and three Great Lakes governors, including are scheduled to meet to discuss the Asian carp threat to the Great Lakes on February 8. Also, on February 9, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Chaired by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) will be holding a hearing on "Asian Carp and the Great Lakes."

Access a release from EPA on the Feb 12 meeting (click here). Access the live web stream website for the Feb 12 meeting (click here). Access the Coordinating Committee website (click here). Access information on the House Asian Carp hearing (click here).