May 2, 2017

Budget Deal Calls For Releasing Asian Carp Prevention Report

Asian carp jumping out of the Wabash River. - Todd Davis/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Asian carp jumping out of the Wabash River.

Todd Davis/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Congress is pushing the Trump administration to release a study of how a Chicago-area waterway structure might be fortified to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

A provision saying Congress "expects" the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release the draft report was included in a budget agreement announced Monday.

The report involves possible upgrades of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, a choke point between the carp-infested Illinois River and Lake Michigan.

Authorities want to prevent the invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes and competing with native fish.

The Army Corps was scheduled to release its draft report earlier this year has delayed it.

Some lawmakers from Illinois and Indiana have warned against doing anything that would hamper commercial shipping in the area.

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