Stabenow demands Army Corps follow the law to block Asian carp from Great Lakes

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) called the Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to complete its plan to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes by 2013 “unacceptable” on Friday.

Stabenow pointed to the Stop Invasive Species Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in July, requiring the Corps to act by 2013.

"The Army Corps of Engineers' refusal to follow the law and submit a complete plan to stop Asian carp is completely unacceptable," Stabenow said in a statement Friday. "Temporary fixes have proven inadequate, with evidence of Asian carp now being detected in the Great Lakes.”

Stabenow and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) introduced the Stop Invasive Species Act, S. 2317, which required the Army Corps to submit to Congress a plan to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes through 18 possible points of entry. The law requires the Corps to complete that plan by 2013.

The Corps said Friday that it might not comply with the law.

“Asian carp could completely devastate the Great Lakes and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on them,” Stabenow said. “We authored and passed a bipartisan law to require the Corps to finally make stopping Asian carp a top priority, and the Corps needs to follow the law and complete their work."

Stabenow’s statement follows last month's report of more positive samples of Asian carp eDNA in western Lake Erie. Asian carp is an invasive species that could kill other life naturally found in the lakes.

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