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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Environment - "Indiana Attorney General Zoeller to support Michigan in Asian carp lawsuit"

The Chesterton Tribune is quoting a press release on its website late this afternoon:

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said today he will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Michigan’s effort to keep Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan through Illinois waterways.

Zoeller plans to draft an amicus brief siding with Michigan in its lawsuit against the State of Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The brief will be filed in the United States Supreme Court, which hears disputes between states.

Last week, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed a lawsuit seeking to require Illinois and the Corps of Engineers to take steps to prevent the invasive Asian carp from migrating from Illinois waterways into Lake Michigan and becoming established there.

Detected within six miles of Lake Michigan, non-native Asian carp – also known as bighead carp and silver carp -- are voracious and compete for food resources against native fish species. If introduced into the Great Lakes ecosystem through shipping locks and canals, Asian carp could deal a severe blow to the commercial and recreational fishing industry of Lake Michigan.

“The immediate environmental threat to the Great Lakes requires Indiana to support our sister states in this case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have failed to halt the invasion of the Asian carp that threatens the freshwater ecosystem supporting one of the greatest fishing bodies of water on earth; and so legal action is unfortunately necessary,” Zoeller said.

The amicus brief Zoeller’s office is drafting will argue that the Corps of Engineers and Illinois should be required to take all necessary steps to stop the immediate risk of environmental harm to Lake Michigan. Zoeller’s office is researching legal and technological options available to halt the spread of carp from the Chicago River and man-made channels while not unduly impeding commercial barge traffic near Northwest Indiana.

“I am sensitive to concerns about the free flow of commerce along the waterways. In this case, however, the Lake Michigan fishing industry -- which affects Hoosiers in Northwest Indiana -- is at stake. Under the principle of state sovereignty, our office has an obligation to stand with the other state attorneys general to act swiftly to prevent an environmental hazard in one state from spreading to another state,” Zoeller said.

The Indiana attorney general represents the state’s legal interests in court. By filing his friend-of-the-court brief in support of Michigan, Zoeller can propose legal alternatives for the Supreme Court justices to consider as they decide the dispute between Michigan and Illinois.

The deadline for filing Zoeller’s amicus brief on the overall merits of the case is Feb. 19, 2010. The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked by Michigan to consider a preliminary injunction before that time.

Michigan is asking the nation’s highest court to reopen a century-old case to which Indiana was not a party, so Indiana’s best option is filing an amicus brief, Zoeller noted.

So that makes Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Indiana. (See ILB entry from Dec. 26th.) What of Wisconsin? This story today by Adnrew Beckett of Wisconsin Radio, headed "Asian carp lawsuit a dilemma for Doyle."
As states work to stop the spread of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes, Wisconsin continues to ponder its role in the debate.

Several states have filed lawsuits with the US Supreme Court to close the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, where Asian Carp have been found. They’re urging the high court to grant an injunction. Several groups, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, have called on Wisconsin to join the legal fight.

Governor Jim Doyle says it’s a tricky issue for Wisconsin to get involved in. He says the state has a priority to prevent the carp from entering the Great Lakes. However, Doyle says lawsuits don’t always turn out the way people hope and the legal battle could actually pull attention away from other crucial efforts to prevent the spread of the carp.

Doyle says whether or not Wisconsin gets involved in the legal battle is up to the Department of Justice. If there’s a firm legal basis and it can be helpful, he says they should join efforts to close the canal.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 30, 2009 05:14 PM
Posted to Environment