USACE Out of Control Public Comment Period

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The USACE needs you to tell them to quite messing around. Submit your comments below.

No Rush Job On Carp Study

By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel, Feb 17, 2011

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/116419819.html

Meantime, Army Corps officials say the public doesn’t need to worry: The electric fish barrier that it’s operating at about half its potential voltage on the canal about 35 miles south of Lake Michigan is doing an excellent job of holding the fish back.

How do they know that?

They have a study that shows it.

What does that study say?

They won’t share it - not even with members of a government advisory panel created to “assess and evaluate effective methodologies, engineering, and science-based methods†to keep the carp and other species from migrating up the Chicago canal system.

“They just seem to be hiding from public scrutiny,†said Phil Moy, a former Army Corps employee who now works for University of Wisconsin Sea Grant and is the co-chair of the “technical policy and work group†for the federal government’s Regional Coordinating Committee in the Asian carp fight.

"Good science doesn't work that way," said Moy, whose panel is packed with scientists, many of whom were instrumental in getting the barrier built in the first place. "Instead of sharing these research results, they're just sitting on them."

Submit written comments on-line here: http://glmris.anl.gov/involve/comments/index.cfm

Comments will be collected until March 31, 2011.

Some suggestions for comments:

The Corps was mandated to study ways to “prevent†invasive species movement between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. Deplorably, the Corps has decided to spend precious time and resources to also study ways to “reduce the risk,†not just prevent. This was not authorized by Congress nor is it a credible strategy that will protect our Great Lakes. This is unacceptable and only options that will “prevent†invasive species movement and stop the Asian carp should be studied.

The Corps study takes too long. The Chicago portion of the study is not predicted to be complete until mid-2015, or nearly five years from now. The Corps must acknowledge the urgency of finding a permanent solution, condense the timeline and produce final results for the Chicago portion of GLMRIS within 18 months rather than mid-2015.

The Asian carp are knocking at the back door to the Great Lakes. Corps should study and provide a solution for the Chicago Waterway System first regardless of the need to prioritize and act on other aquatic pathways.

The Corps must operate in a completely open and non-deceitful manner that is completely open to public scrutiny. Actions like refusing to release reports are not acceptable.