White House meeting sees proposal to block waterways 3 or 4 days a week
At a White House meeting Monday on the Asian carp threat to the Great Lakes, federal officials said they may seek to close navigational locks on Chicago-area waterways for up to three or four days a week, a move that would restrict cargo shipping and recreational boating.
The idea is only one option for dealing with the problem, but shipping industry experts reacted swiftly and negatively, saying even a partial closing of the locks in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal would deal an economic blow to the region, cost jobs and force some companies to shut down or leave the area.
"It's a very critical time; there's a lot at stake here," said Darren Melvin, board member for the Illinois River Carriers Association. "If there is any kind of closure, which we're against, you're going to see a significant impact immediately."
Advocates of closing the locks permanently didn't like the partial closing idea either. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who has sued Illinois in an attempt to close the locks, said shutting them a few days a week "sounds as logical as keeping criminals in jail four days a week and hoping the other three days go well."
The proposal is one piece of a $78.5 million, multi-pronged attack to stop Asian carp, an invasive species, from entering and establishing a large population in Lake Michigan. The Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, announced at a White House meeting with Midwest governors, contains more than 25 short- and long-term actions designed to protect the estimated $7 billion commercial and recreational fishing industry in the Great Lakes.
"It balances the urgent need to remove Asian carp from the Chicago-area waterway system with the need to maintain the waterway system for navigation, stormwater and wastewater management," said Gov. Pat Quinn, who participated in the White House meeting by phone.
The planned actions include:
--Opening Chicago's navigational locks "less frequently" to block carp movement and allow for more netting, electrofishing and study downriver.
--Funding a study to look at the potential impact of permanent lock closing, the effectiveness of lock operations and alternative methods of keeping carp out of Lake Michigan.
--Spending $10.5 million to build a third underwater electric barrier in the Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville. The project, paid for with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is scheduled for completion next fall.
--Awarding $13.2 million to construct concrete and chain-link fencing between the canal and the Des Plaines River in an effort to keep Asian carp from bypassing the electric barriers during flooding. That money is allocated from the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative approved last year.
--Committing $5 million for additional toxic chemical treatments in area waterways, $3 million to expand the commercial market for Asian carp in Illinois and elsewhere, and more money to further environmental DNA testing.
"We have got to hit these carp and beat them back with all of the tools in our toolbox," said Cameron Davis, a Great Lakes adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday that he and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm pushed during the meeting to close the Illinois locks now. Doyle said Ohio's Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a telephone participant, did too. After the meeting, Granholm issued a statement saying she was "very disappointed" by the federal proposal.
Mark Biel, executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, said even a partial closing would be "extremely detrimental if not catastrophic" to the regional shipping industry.
Millions of cargo ships, barges and recreational boats pass through Chicago-area rivers and canals each year, carrying coal, chemicals, steel, road salt and commercial goods to distribution hubs and power plants between Chicago and ports along the Gulf of Mexico.
"I don't think people fully understand the impact of closing these locks; Chicago would not be Chicago if not for the shipping access between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River," Biel said. "In these economic times it's hard to imagine decisions will be made that fish are more important than people."
Closing the navigational locks several days a week was one proposal submitted by the Army Corps of Engineers. The agency is also looking at the impact of closing the locks one or two weeks a month. The locks would be opened as necessary in an emergency or to alleviate flooding concerns.
A decision is expected in early March.
Tribune reporters Joel Hood reported from Chicago, with Katherine Skiba in Washington.
