Thursday, November 18, 2010

Senate Passes Asian Carp Prevention & Control Act

Nov 17: The U.S. Senate gave approval to a bill authored by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), which would aid in the fight against the further spread of Asian carp in the United States. The Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, S.1421, would add the bighead carp species of Asian carp to a list of injurious species that are prohibited from being imported or shipped in the United States under the Lacey Act. Senator Levin introduced the bipartisan bill in July 2009 with Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) his co-chair on the Senate Great Lakes Task Force. A companion bill introduced in the House by Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL), is currently pending in the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. The bill must be approved by the House before signed into law by the president.

    Levin said, "Asian carp pose a real, clear and growing threat to the Great Lakes, but this bill will add to the arsenal of tools we have to combat them. The devastating effects Asian carp could have on the Great Lakes are not fully known, and I want to make sure they are never realized. I will work with my House colleagues to ensure this bill is sent to the president as soon as possible so it can take effect expeditiously."

    The Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act would list the bighead carp as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act, which was originally passed by Congress in 1900 and amended in 1981. Listing the bighead species of Asian carp under the Lacey Act would help prevent the intentional introduction of the species by prohibiting the interstate transportation or importation of live Asian carp without a permit. Levin indicated in a release that the legislation would not interfere with existing state regulations of Asian carp, and it would allow states to issue permits to transport or purchase live Asian carp for scientific, medical or educational purposes. The Fish and Wildlife Service has already listed other species of Asian carp as injurious under the Lacey Act.

    Access a release from Sen. Levin with additional information (click here). Access legislative details on S.1421 (click here). Access legislative details on H.R.3173 (click here).

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Groups Say Company Is Misleading On Nuclear Shipments

Nov 15: A release from the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility and several U.S. non-governmental organizations accuses Bruce Power (BP) of misleading the public, the media and decision-makers about the kind of contamination inside the cargo of 16 radioactive steam generators it plans to ship to Sweden [See WIMS 9/17/10], by neglecting to state that it is mainly plutonium. The company proposes to ship the sixteen, 100 tonne steel radioactive steam generators, from Owen Sound, through Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence and out into the Atlantic to Sweden for reprocessing.
 
    The proposal has been met with concerted opposition from over 100 municipalities and aboriginal communities along the route, as well as from more than 70 NGOs. In response to this public outcry, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) held a public hearing in September with 79 intervenors. According to the release, the outpouring of concern at that hearing led CNSC to extend the comment period for intervenors to give added input until November 22 -- an unexpected and unprecedented development.
 
    Most of the intervenors want Bruce Power to cancel the shipment and return to the original plan as laid down in a 2006 Environmental Assessment -- to store the steam generators on site indefinitely as radioactive waste along with all the other radioactive waste materials produced by the Bruce reactors.
 
    The groups said if the company insists on pushing forward with its proposal, intervenors feel strongly that there must be an environmental assessment of the entire project, including "not only the initial transport to Sweden but the recycling of the radioactive metal and the return back to Canada of up to 30 percent of the original waste."
 
    Access a release from the groups (click here).

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Corps Announces EIS Process For ANS Control Interbasin Study

Nov 16: The Chicago District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced in the Federal Register [75 FR 69983-69985] its intent to: (1) prepare a Draft EIS; (2) accept public comments; and (3) host a public scoping meeting in Chicago for the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS). In collaboration with other Federal, state, and local agencies as well as non-governmental entities, USACE is conducting a feasibility study of the options and technologies that could be applied to prevent or reduce the risk of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) transfer between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins through aquatic pathways. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping period ends on February 28, 2011. The first NEPA Public Scoping meeting for GLMRIS is scheduled for December 15, 2010 in Chicago. Additional scoping meetings in other cities will be announced later.
 
    According to the announcement, the Mississippi River and Great Lakes Basins are connected by man-made channels that, in the past, exhibited poor water quality, which was an impediment to the transfer of organisms between the basins. Now that water quality has improved, these canals allow the transfer of both indigenous and nonindigenous invasive species. Potential ANS controls may include, but are not limited to, hydrologic separation of the basins, waterway modifications, selective barriers, etc. USACE will accept comments related to GLMRIS until February 28, 2011.
 
    Access the FR announcement (click here). Access the GLMRIS project website for further information and to submit comments (click here).

Friday, November 12, 2010

Great Lakes Commission Urges OMB To Continue Base Funding

Nov 12: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has called on the Obama Administration to maintain a strong foundation for ongoing management and conservation of the Great Lakes in its FY 2012 budget proposal. In correspondence sent to the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), GLC Chair James Tierney emphasized that both the Administration and Congress have stated clearly that special funding provided under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is intended to supplement, not supplant, base funding for regional and national programs that support continued management of the Great Lakes [emphasis in original].
 
    The Commission continues to strongly support the GLRI, which is implementing a comprehensive restoration plan built on the priorities of the region's governors and broadly endorsed by local governments, tribes, business and industry, and conservation groups. The Initiative addresses specific restoration priorities, however, and does not take the place of, or lessen the need for, base Federal programs that ensure the effective use and conservation of the Great Lakes. The President's FY 2012 budget proposal is being prepared by OMB and will be submitted to Congress in February 2011. The GLC letter asks that OMB and the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force honor the "clear intent of Congress and the Administration that funding for base Great Lakes programs be maintained at 2009 levels as the GLRI moves forward."
 
    GLC points out that when Congress approved FY 2010 appropriations it directed U.S. EPA to "work with the other Federal agencies to ensure [GLRI] funds supplement and expand, not supplant, base Great Lakes programs when compared to fiscal year 2009 levels." Similarly, the GLRI Action Plan, adopted by the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force in February 2010, states that "agencies must assure that they continue to support their existing base program activities in the Great Lakes and that added Initiative support will not be used to supplant their existing base funding."
 
    Access a release from GLC (click here). Access more information on the GLC's regional advocacy program for the Great Lakes (click here).

Great Lakes Beach Association Conference Presentations

Nov 12: The Great Lakes Commission (GLC) has announced that the extensive presentations from the 10th annual Great Lakes Beach Association Conference held October 19-22, 2010, at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center in Erie, PA are now available. The Great Lakes Beach Association (GLBA) is presently made up of members from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Environment Canada and several mid-west universities and non-government agencies. Local, county and state public health, regulatory agencies, coordinating agencies, researchers and environmental groups are among the groups involved.
 
    Access the website for the 10th annual conference and link to the agenda, speaker bios, presentations and poster abstracts (click here). Access the Beach Association website for more information (click here). 

Monday, November 1, 2010

Officials Celebrate Completion Of Asian Carp Barricades

Oct 29: U.S. Representatives Judy Biggert and Daniel Lipinski, officials from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the office of Senator Richard Durbin joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. EPA, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago; Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Cook, DuPage and Will counties at a ribbon cutting to mark the completion of barricades along the Des Plaines River and I&M Canal. The project was designed and constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers and funded through the U.S. Army Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
 
    The measures are intended to reduce the risk of Asian carp being swept from the Des Plaines River and I&M Canal into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) during heavy rains and flooding. The Des Plaines River barricade, a project completed on time and under budget, consists of concrete barriers and a specially fabricated wire mesh that allows water to flow through the fence but prevents the passage of fish. The fence extends approximately 13 miles from Romeoville, IL to Willow Springs, IL. The completion of this project marks yet another milestone met in the framework laid out by the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC).
 
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been operating a system of electric barriers near Romeoville, IL to prevent invasive species, including Asian carp, from migrating into Lake Michigan via the CSSC. The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maximize the effectiveness of the barrier system by conducting a study of a range factors that could potentially reduce the efficacy of the Electrical Dispersal Barriers. The first report USACE completed under this authority identified areas of potential bypass upstream of the electric barriers during flooding and recommended construction of this barricade along the Des Plaines River, along with a stone blockage in the I&M Canal.
 
    Colonel Vincent Quarles, commander, USACE Chicago District said, "Construction of these measures is crucial to reducing the risk of Asian carp bypassing the barriers. The electric barriers focus on the largest, most direct, pathway. Now, we have measures in place to reduce the possibility of Asian carp entering the CSSC via those flanking waterways."
 
    Access a release with further details from the ACRCC (click here). Access the ACRCC website for additional information (click here).

MDNRE Draft Asian Carps Control Plan For Michigan

Oct 27: Charged with developing a draft plan for Michigan to address potential monitoring and assessment needs for Asian carps, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) Fisheries Division Management Team quietly released their report. MDNRE indicates that the plan is not intended as a rapid response plan, but rather as the beginning of a comprehensive strategy for addressing the threat of Asian carps dispersing, or being introduced, into Michigan waters. According to an announcement posted on the Asian Carp Regional Coordination Committee (ACRCC) website, the questions the Fisheries Division Asian Carps Working Group attempt to address in the draft plan include the following:
  • What does the Department need to do to adequately address the threat of Asian carp species invading Michigan waters? 
  • What sampling strategies are appropriate in addressing this threat? 
  • What should our response be if Asian carps, either isolated individuals or abundant populations, are detected in Michigan waters?
  • What are the pros and cons of various possible management strategies?
  • What types of resources (both financial and human) are necessary to adequately address this threat? 
    The Fisheries Division Asian Carps Working Group ((D. Clapp, J. Mistak, K. Smith, M. Tonello) that developed the draft plan said, "Within this report, common strategies are combined under five goals: prevention, communication, detection, assessment, and management. These goals are presented in what our group feels to be the priority order for management action. Prevention and communication are of immediate importance. If Asian carps are detected in Michigan waters, then we will be forced to undertake assessment and management actions. We restricted ourselves almost entirely to analysis and documentation of strategies and actions that could be directly implemented by MDNRE and other Michigan agency staff. So, while our group feels that implementing ecological separation (for example, between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River system) is probably the strategy with the highest likelihood of success, we did not directly include this as a strategy within our plan since the MDNRE cannot independently implement separation. Likewise, while political action has some likelihood of success in preventing Asian carps from reaching Michigan, such action is not directly within our scope of authority. . .
 
    "Our group feels that the Department should begin as soon as possible to act on the recommendations outlined in this report. To facilitate such action, we have highlighted the following strategies that our group feels are most critical to immediately addressing the threat of introduction of Asian carps to Michigan waters." Among the recommendations to be implemented immediately are the formation of a Michigan Asian Carps Task Group, with initial membership coming from MDNRE and Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), the launch of a public education campaign and quick implementation of an effective surveillance plan.
 
    Access the announcement (click here). Access the MDNRE 69-page proposed plan (click here).