The U.S. House of Representatives today approved the Brandon Road project to help stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The project was included in the Water Resources Development Act which will also reduce the local cost share requirement of the project from 35% to 20%, easing the financial burden on the State of Illinois. In addition, the bill allows for new technologies to be considered in the project thus providing more flexibility for potentially more effective control options to be added in the future.
“Invasive Asian carp are a national problem to our nation’s waters, fisheries, and way of life. The Brandon Road project is the best opportunity we have to keep them from invading the Great Lakes and spreading to countless new waters, while simultaneously putting people to work building the new lock and dam.” said Marc Smith, policy director for the National Wildlife Federation. “The design of the engineered channel includes multiple carp deterrent technologies and the inclusion of new technologies could increase the effectiveness of the design while potentially reducing costs as more efficient technologies are developed. We thank the bipartisan members of Congress for their diligence in finding national solutions to stop invasive Asian carp.”
