The states of Michigan and Illinois have signed a Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement a long-awaited invasive carp barrier at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced this week the three will cosponsor the construction of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project. The agreement unlocks $274 million in federal and $114 million in state funding for the first of three phases of the $1.15 billion project that will prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes.
State Representative Joey Andrews tells us this is a major step in protecting Lake Michigan.
“For a long time, it’s the topic of conversation,” Andrews said. “We have to find a long-term solution keeping them out of the Great Lakes orwe risk completely destroying the fishing industry in Lake Michigan and and beyond. So hopefully, this is some real motion towards that.”
Andrews says he’s glad the two governors have recognized the need for long-term action to keep the carp out.
“I also think the feds have done a pretty good job so far of more or less keeping the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, just at great cost. So we’ve been lucky to not have to directly deal with it to the extent that we could if that weren’t the case.”
The Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet is a pinch point to stop invasive carp from moving into the Great Lakes. Although the carp has been kept out of the Great Lakes via current measures in place there, Whitmer’s office says the Brandon Road Interbasin Project will “implement a complex series of invasive carp and aquatic nuisance species deterrents.”
The federal government will contribute 90% of the cost. The remaining 10% will be split between Michigan and Illinois, with Michigan providing $64 million and Illinois providing $50 million.
The funds have already been approved by both legislatures.
