NMMA urges Army Corp to proceed with AIS prevention measures
On Tuesday, the Boating and Fishing Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Coalition submitted public comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, calling on the Corp to implement projects recommend in the Brand Roads Lock and Dam Report, which will help combat the spread of AIS to the Great Lakes. The coalition was established by NMMA and its partner organizations during the summer of 2018 to advance the industry’s AIS priorities.
According to the filing, “The estimated cost of the projects within the Report increase from approximately $275 million to $777.8 million. This increase includes $317 million in contingency costs and approximately $460 million in project costs. We agree that while this is a significant increase in cost, however the Great Lakes are worth the investment for their protection against the potential economic disaster due to an Asian carp invasion.”
The filing continues, “We encourage and recommend that the ACOE proceed with the expedited strategy to implement this project. The risk to the Great Lakes is too high to wait any longer.
“Stopping the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes remains a critical and urgent matter. We hope that you continue to hit the timeline outlined in the Report and that this is included in the February 2019 Chief’s Report. Without these projects being implemented swiftly, the future of the boating and fishing pastimes in the Great Lakes are in danger of being lost.”
The full filing is available here.
For more information, please contact NMMA director of state government relations, Libby Yranski at lyranski@nmma.org.
