{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/baldwin-joins-bipartisan-letter-raising-alarm-over-critical-asian-carp-study", "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Joins Bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force Letter Raising Alarm over Delay in Finalizing Critical Asian Carp Study", "2017-11-27", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "www.baldwin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.27.17\n\t\t\t U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Joins Bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force Letter Raising Alarm over Delay in Finalizing Critical Asian Carp Study \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Senators express serious concerns over the timeline for implementing permanent measures to combat Asian carp\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), co-Chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, in sending a letter to the acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works raising alarm over the delay in finalizing the Brandon Road Study, a critical action-plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.\r\n\u201cIt is imperative that the USACE meet the original timeline for completing the Chief\u2019s Report by January 2019,\u201d wrote the Senators. \u201cThe USACE initiated the Brandon Road Study in April 2015 after the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Study (GLMRIS) identified the Brandon Road Lock & Dam as a location to control the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.\u201d\r\nGreat Lakes Task Force Vice Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Task Force members Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also signed the letter.\r\n\u201cUSACE has indicated that implementing the recommended measures in the TSP is unlikely before 2025,\u201d the Senators continued.\u00a0 \u201cThis timeline is particularly concerning given recent findings that demonstrated new ways for Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes\u2026This past June, an eight pound Silver carp made its way up the Illinois River, beyond the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, and was found above the electric barrier \u2013 just nine miles from Lake Michigan.\u201d\r\nThe letter is available here and the full text may be found below.\r\n\u00a0\r\nMr. Ryan A. Fisher\r\nActing Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army (Civil Works)\r\n108 Army Pentagon\r\nWashington, DC 20310-0101\r\n\u00a0\r\nAs Senators representing Great Lakes states, we write to share our views on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 (USACE) draft Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) for the Brandon Road Study.\u00a0\r\nFirst, it is imperative that the USACE meet the original timeline for completing the Chief\u2019s Report by January 2019.\u00a0 The USACE initiated the Brandon Road Study in April 2015 after the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Study (GLMRIS) identified the Brandon Road Lock & Dam as a location to control the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes. The USACE provided a 46-month timeline to complete Brandon Road Study, with an interim step of releasing the Tentatively Selected Plan by January 2017. This was already longer than the 3x3x3 rule enacted in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (P. L. 113-121), in which feasibility studies must result in a final report in three years or less.\u00a0 Despite the six-month delay in the release of the TSP, we fully expect the USACE to complete its Chief\u2019s Report by January 2019. Secondly, we ask that you provide us an update on the timeline for completion of the Chief\u2019s Report\r\nThirdly, USACE has indicated that implementing the recommended measures in the TSP is unlikely before 2025.\u00a0 This timeline is particularly concerning given recent findings that demonstrated new ways for Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes.\u00a0\u00a0 Field studies conducted in recent years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that small fish \u2013 including Asian Carp \u2013 can become entrained between barges and transported safely through the electric dispersal barriers near Romeoville, Illinois \u2013 located approximately 25 miles from Lake Michigan.\u00a0 Moreover, this past June, an eight pound Silver carp made its way up the Illinois River, beyond the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, and was found above the electric barrier \u2013 just nine miles from Lake Michigan.\r\nWhile waterway shipping is important to the economies of the Great Lakes states, it is also essential that we prevent the devastating impacts that would occur if Asian Carp invade the Great Lakes. Studies have shown those impacts would include declines in native fish species and a one-third reduction of total fish weight in Lake Erie. This threatens the Great Lakes\u2019 world-class $7 billion/year fishing industry, $16 billion/year recreational boating industry, and the hundreds of thousands of jobs these industries support.\r\nWe appreciate the USACE\u2019s recognition that controlling the movement of aquatic invasive species such as Asian Carp is necessary, and we look forward to hearing from you on your commitment to complete the Chief\u2019s Report by January 2019.\r\nThank you for your consideration of our request. We ask that this letter be included in the formal record of comments for the draft report.\u00a0\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Press Release", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/baldwin-joins-bipartisan-letter-raising-alarm-over-critical-asian-carp-study"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9228191338479519, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}