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Corps outlines next steps on Brandon Road invasive carp defenses; members press for faster implementation
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Summary
The Army Corps said it released a solicitation for the first contract for Brandon Road deterrent systems and described a multilayered defense; members urged speed as invasive Asian carp threaten Great Lakes fisheries and inland waterways.
Members pressed the Army Corps about progress on the Brandon Road project, a multistate effort to prevent invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, and the Corps said it has released a solicitation for a first contract to install deterrent measures.
Brandon Road near Joliet, Ill., is a focal point for preventing carp migration that could harm fisheries and recreation. Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur told the panel the project "aims at arresting the potential enormous economic and environmental damage" posed by Asian carp and urged timely progress.
Lieutenant General Butch Graham testified that the Corps released a solicitation for "contract 1a" for a bubbling system and acoustic deterrent last Friday and described that work as part of a "multilayered defense." "Once that's awarded and constructed, that will be the start of fish deterrents," he said.
Members repeatedly urged the Corps to coordinate with states and jurisdictions and to keep the committee updated on solicitations and contract awards. Kaptur asked the Corps to provide the solicitation materials to the committee; Graham agreed to provide the press release and related material.
Several members voiced frustration with program delays elsewhere related to invasive carp work and pressed for quicker program implementation and for sponsors (states or nonfederal partners) to have project agreements ready when the Corps finalizes program plans. Graham said the Corps is working with states and partners to have projects and nonfederal sponsor arrangements "on the shelf" and ready for execution when programmatic guidance is finalized.
The committee flagged that programmatic delays impose economic and ecological risk: members said they were "literally scared" about the environmental and economic impacts where carp have established populations and asked the Corps for continued cooperation with states and the Tennessee Valley Authority and others to ensure timely work.
