Proposed physical separation too costly, too economically devastating for consideration

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Great Lakes Commission announced today an initiative to drastically alter the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) through so-called ‘ecological separation’. The proposal demands transformation of water management and transportation in the Chicago region for by creating physical barriers, more accurately called ‘hydrological separation’, to separate the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds.

In a release announcing the initiative, the commission claims there is a growing consensus among regional stakeholders in support of permanent physical separation of the two watersheds.  To date, however, no relevant government agency has endorsed or pursued such action due to its inevitable widespread, devastating economic effects.  In fact, government analysis from responsible agencies has widely suggested that physical separation will not solve the threat of Asian carp reaching the lake.  In response, the UnLock Our Jobs coalition points out the true growing consensus from the agencies that have successfully contained this issue to date is for a comprehensive, long-term solution that simultaneously prevents Asian carp from establishing a self-sustaining population, allows for proper water treatment and flood control and leaves waterways open to commerce and recreation.

“The Army Corps and experts from the Risk Assessment Panel have already stated lock closure will not lower chances of Asian carp establishing a reproducing population in Lake Michigan,” stated Mark Biel, the executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) and chair of UnLock Our Jobs. “Furthermore, no authoritative government agency has endorsed any kind of physical separation due to unavoidable economic devastation – we don’t even know if it’s possible. To claim this path forward has growing regional support is a gross distortion of the facts.”

Lisa Frede, director of regulatory affairs at CICI and scientific advisor to UnLock Our Jobs continued, “Each of these proposed action items have been addressed before and discarded.  If this threat is as immediate as alarmists claim, then retracing our steps is hardly productive. Experts have already identified at least 21 other pathways with different risk levels by which Asian carp can be introduced into new environments. The discovery of isolated Asian carp in lagoons near Lake Michigan only underscores the probability human release is to blame for these introductions.”

UnLock Our Jobs encourages The Great Lakes Commission to work with regional stakeholders on a mutually beneficial solution for all parties involved instead of pursuing costly paths to hydrological separation that only act to deteriorate regional cooperation and detract from efforts toward an economically and environmentally viable resolution.

For additional information regarding this or related issues, please visit UnLock Our Jobs’ website for detailed resources.

To speak with any UnLock Our Jobs experts, please contact Lisa Burgess at lisa@unlockourjobs.org or (202) 257-0983.

Un-Lock Our Jobs is a coalition dedicated to protecting the essential waterway connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River corridor. A project of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, coalition members represent agriculture, business, labor, river communities, and concerned citizens working towards a comprehensive solution to stop the spread of Asian carp, while leaving the Chicago locks open to commerce.

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