Army Corps Reduces Power on Asian Carp Barrier

[EdB]

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/army_corps_reduces_power_on_as.html

Power is being reduced on an electric barrier network designed to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes because it might be interfering with operations on a nearby railroad, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The announcement came barely a week after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned up the juice in the barrier to make it more effective against juvenile carp.

The barrier is in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a man-made waterway that links Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River basin and could provide a pathway for the voracious carp to attack the Great Lakes. The device emits rapid pulses to chase away fish that wander into the area and give them a possibly fatal jolt if they persist.

The Army Corps said the barrier is doing a good job of blocking the carp's northward migration. But critics argue that it's inadequate and want physical barriers erected in the Chicago area to sever ties between the two watersheds.

The Corps turned up the heat on Oct. 11, after research raised questions about whether the force field was strong enough to prevent small fish from getting through. The power level was raised from 2 volts per square inch to 2.3 volts. The duration and frequency of pulses were revised as well.

But the Corps said Wednesday that it was restoring the previous settings after technicians said the barrier might be causing a railroad crossing gate about 200 feet from the barrier to malfunction. It also might be interfering with signals that indicate whether trains are approaching, said Lt. Col. David Berczek, deputy commander of the Corps' Chicago office.

"Public safety must be the primary concern with the operation of the barrier," Berczek said.

Technicians are studying the problem and will try to find a way to operate the barrier at the higher levels without affecting the railroad, he said. It's too early to say how long that could take, he said.

Berczek said the barrier had done well stopping the carp before the power was ramped up and would continue doing so.

Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania have filed a federal lawsuit concerning the barrier, contending that the only way to stop fish and other organisms from moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi watersheds is to physically separate them. They note that scientists have detected Asian carp DNA beyond the barrier, although just one actual carp has been found there.

The problem with the railroad is an example of the electric barrier's shortcomings, said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental advocacy group.

"This is why there has been such a clamor for a permanent solution," he said. "We'll probably keep finding these hurdles as long as we rely on interim steps like the barrier."