TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Members of Congress are prodding federal officials to work faster on technological roadblocks that would prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes through Chicago-area waterways.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan says about 20 members of the House and Senate discussed the situation Wednesday in Washington, D.C., with representatives of federal agencies working to protect the lakes from the invasive carp.
Stabenow says the lawmakers were concerned about a recent discovery that the leading edge of the Illinois River's juvenile silver carp population has moved 66 miles closer to Lake Michigan this year.
She says U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials reported it could take four years to develop new technologies to halt the carps' advance at a crucial lock-and-dam choke point in Illinois. Stabenow says quicker action is needed.
