Bill Text: MI HR0312 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution to memorialize Congress to enact legislation to require the Secretary of the Army to study the feasibility of the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 61-37)
Status: (Passed) 2010-07-01 - Adopted [HR0312 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HR0312-Introduced.html
Reps. Nerat, Angerer, Ball, Barnett, Bauer, Bennett, Bledsoe, Bolger, Booher, Lisa Brown, Terry Brown, Byrnes, Byrum, Calley, Caul, Clemente, Constan, Corriveau, Crawford, Daley, Dean, Denby, DeShazor, Dillon, Donigan, Durhal, Ebli, Elsenheimer, Geiss, Gonzales, Green, Gregory, Griffin, Haase, Haines, Hammel, Hansen, Haugh, Hildenbrand, Horn, Huckleberry, Jackson, Johnson, Rick Jones, Robert Jones, Kandrevas, Kennedy, Knollenberg, Kowall, Kurtz, Lahti, LeBlanc, Lemmons, Lindberg, Lipton, Liss, Lori, Lund, Marleau, Mayes, McDowell, Meadows, Meekhof, Melton, Meltzer, Miller, Moore, Moss, Nathan, Neumann, Opsommer, Pavlov, Polidori, Proos, Roberts, Rocca, Rogers, Roy Schmidt, Wayne Schmidt, Schuitmaker, Bettie Scott, Paul Scott, Scripps, Segal, Sheltrown, Slavens, Slezak, Smith, Spade, Stamas, Stanley, Switalski, Tlaib, Tyler, Valentine, Walsh, Warren and Womack offered the following resolution:
House Resolution No. 312.
A resolution to memorialize Congress to enact legislation to require the Secretary of the Army to study the feasibility of the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.
Whereas, The recent discovery of a bighead Asian carp in Lake Calumet, only 6 miles from Lake Michigan and with no barrier whatsoever between where the fish was found and Lake Michigan, has confirmed the fears that fisheries experts across the Great Lakes region have long expressed. Clearly, this is irrefutable evidence that existing efforts to keep this innasive species out of the Great Lakes, such as the electric barrier, are inadequate; and
Whereas, Michigan, with the greatest stake in the overall health of the Great Lakes, has taken a strong role in fighting to protect the ecology and economy of the lakes from the potentially devastating effects of this voracious threat. Through legal channels and repeated exhortations over many years, Michigan has called for much stronger measures to be taken, with the ultimate goal being the physical separation of the Great Lakes Basin from the Mississippi River Basin. As these calls for actions have gone unheeded, the Asian carp has continued its move to and through the artificial channels made to connect Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system so many years ago; and
Whereas, A bipartisan pair of bills have been introduced in Congress (H.R.5625 and S.3553) to expedite the Secretary of the Army's study of the feasibility of the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. This legislation would require the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Corps of Engineers, to determine the feasibility of separating the two water systems as a permanent safeguard of the Great Lakes; and
Whereas, The pending legislation expressly requires the study to focus on the impact of flooding, the Chicago wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, waterway safety, and barge and recreational traffic alternatives. The traffic alternatives to be examined include the development of other modes of transportation and the possible creation of new engineering designs and systems. Most importantly, these bills set forth timelines that reflect the urgency of the matter at hand; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize Congress to enact legislation to require the Secretary of the Army to study the feasibility of the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
