Barrett Urges AG Van Hollen To Join Carp Legal Fight

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is urging Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to get actively involved in efforts to help block Asian carp from taking over the Great Lakes.

Here is the text of Barrett's letter:


December 29, 2009

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen
Wisconsin Department of Justice
P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857

Dear Attorney General Van Hollen:

I am asking that you join the State of Michigan’s request to the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction to close the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and prevent the spread of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.

I recently sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency urging that these two agencies undertake a review of closing the locks at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. I believe that we have reached the point where it is imperative to close waterways in Illinois to prevent the introduction of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.

Asian Carp pose an economic and ecological threat to the entire Great Lakes, and their entry into Lake Michigan would cause irreparable harm to not only the Great Lakes, but also to Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes.

Other states, such as Minnesota and Ohio, have filed suit to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking legal means to stop the spread of Asian Carp. It is imperative that Wisconsin also takes an active role in this suit, and I urge you to file a brief with the Supreme Court prior to its consideration of this matter on January 8, 2010.


Sincerely,
Tom Barrett
Mayor