Ohio Calls for Vigilance, Cooperation to Protect Lake Erie from Invasive Carp

Columbus, Ohio - Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher today sent the following letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to press the need for a coordinated response to the Asian carp threat on Lake Erie and all the Great Lakes.

Also today, Lt. Governor Fisher is participating by phone in a meeting with Administrator Jackson and Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, as well as several Great Lakes governors to discuss a joint federal/state partnership to address Asian carp. Fisher was scheduled to attend the meeting as the governor's designee but was unable to secure a flight due to weather.

Later this week, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Sean Logan will meet with officials from the U.S. EPA and other Great Lakes states to help develop a framework for the Asian Carp Control Strategy.

Additionally, Logan will participate in Great Lakes Days in Washington D.C. February 22- 24, when he will meet with Ohio's congressional delegation to discuss a number of important issues concerning the Great Lakes. He specifically will work to advance the reintroduction of federal ballast water legislation, which will help protect Lake Erie from invasive species.

Full text letter from Governor Strickland and Lt. Governor Fisher to U.S. EPA Administrator Jackson is pasted below:

Monday, February 8, 2010

Lisa Jackson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460


Dear Administrator Jackson:

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes, and specifically to Lake Erie, with you in Washington on February 3rd. I look forward to our continued dialogue and am pleased that you are taking the lead on formulating an Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.

Ohio stands ready to protect the Great Lakes. But there is no question that a collaborative approach between the federal and state governments, provinces and tribes and our private and public sector partners is the only way to accomplish the universal goal of keeping Asian carp and other invasive species out of our waters.

As you are aware, Asian carp have been present in the Mississippi River drainage for several years, and have caused serious ecological harm by displacing native fish species. The Asian carp have spread north into the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers, and recently were detected in the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal (CSSC), which puts them on the doorstep to Lake Michigan. If they enter Lake Michigan, they have unimpeded access to all of the Great Lakes, including Ohio's precious natural resource Lake Erie.

Lake Erie is the 13th largest lake in the world and produces more fish than all other Great Lakes combined. It is the source of tremendous recreational opportunities as well as an important economic driver for Ohio. Recreational fishing on Lake Erie, which is at serious risk if Asian carp invade, generates $801 million dollars in economic activity for the state. Specifically, recreational fishing on Lake Erie generates $480 million in retail sales, supports 10,000 jobs, and provides $52 million in state and local tax revenues annually.

Lake Erie also supports a diversity of aquatic and terrestrial species that could be negatively impacted if Asian carp become abundant. Changes to the Lake Erie ecosystem brought about by Asian carp could affect everything from plankton and mollusks to fish and birds.

Following from our conversation last week, Lt. Governor Fisher and I have three specific requests for your consideration:

First, U.S. EPA has indicated that the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee will hold additional meetings in the near future elsewhere in the Great Lakes basin. We request that one of those future meetings take place in Ohio.

Second, it is my understanding that the Asian Carp Rapid Response Committee has been identified as the existing entity through which regional action will be executed. While there is already a Great Lakes Commission designee on this committee, we request that each Governor have representation there as well.

Lastly, as the Asian Carp Rapid Response Committee moves forward, I would request that the following be considered:

* Permanent Ecological Separation: The permanent hydrological and ecological separation of Lake Michigan from the Chicago Waterways System (CWS) is the only 100% guaranteed method to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes system. Once established breeding populations are present in Lake Michigan, the spread of the species to other Great Lakes becomes highly likely. Continued monitoring will allow for rapid response measures but cannot be relied upon to stop Asian carp from spreading.

* Biological Separation: Beyond a physical closure of the canal, a reliable prevention method would be a biological closure. Chicago disposes of wastewater (sewage treatment plant effluent) into the canal. If the wastewater water-quality standards were to be relaxed to some degree, an environment could be created in the canal that would not support aquatic life. This might be an option for creating a biological closure that would keep out the carp, but allow the canal to remain physically open for commerce. Dumping some amount of essentially raw sewage in the canal poses its own risk factors, such as the impacts downstream to water quality, that need the examination of EPA and sanitation engineers. But no protective measure should be ruled out without due consideration.

* Alteration of Infrastructure: Engineering and design of an alternative way to transport cargo over land that currently travels through the CSSC waterway would be a significant up-front capital investment and, in conjunction with the permanent hydrological and ecological separation of the bodies of water, would be an effective long-term strategy to prevent the spread of Asian carp. I understand the alternative infrastructure would need to contemplate the multiple demands on the CWS as well as adjacent transportation availability such as roads and railways.

* Ballast Water Plan and Enforceable Standards: The Asian carp issue has heightened Ohio's desire to see the introduction and swift enactment of a strong federal law that would regulate ballast water exchanges of oceangoing freighters that enter the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway. While the threat of Asian carp entering Lake Michigan did not manifest itself through a ballast water release of an oceangoing vessel, the threat of this aggressive species has highlighted the need for federal leadership in addressing the overall issue of the introduction of harmful invasive species into the Great Lakes.

Thank you again for your leadership on this issue. We know that you understand well the need for vigilance and constructive action to successfully protect America's Great Lakes. We look forward to working together collaboratively toward this shared goal.

Sincerely,

Ted Strickland Lee Fisher