Cox: Will file suit to stop Asian carp

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced Sunday he will file a federal lawsuit to force the closure of locks on a canal southwest of Chicago to prevent invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

Last week, Gov. Jennifer Granholm called on Cox to "pursue every legal tool available," including filing federal suits against the state of Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Five environmental groups had sent the attorney general a letter asking for similar action, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The fish could thrive in Great Lakes tributaries, such as the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo and Grand rivers, threatening spawning grounds for lake trout and salmon. Fishing on the Great Lakes is estimated to be a $7 billion industry.

"Asian carp must be stopped now because we will not have a second chance once they enter Lake Michigan," Cox said in a statement Sunday.

After Asian carp DNA was found beyond electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, environmental officials poisoned a 5.7-mile stretch of the manmade waterway as a precaution while one of the barriers was repaired. One Asian carp was found after the kill.

Cox's suit will attempt to force the Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois and a Chicago-area sewerage district to close the locks and come up with "a comprehensive, long-term solution to the crisis," according to the statement.

"Instead of having to sound the emergency alarms again one month or six months from now, authorities responsible for this situation must seize this opportunity to once and for all solve the problem."