Atty: Lakes waterways a 'carp highway'

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge has set Sept. 7 as the next hearing in a multistate lawsuit demanding tougher action to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes.

Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. heard from both sides during the first hearing in the case Monday in Chicago.

Michigan assistant attorney general Robert Reichel argued the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes has reached a "biological tipping point" and the waterways leading into Lake Michigan have become a "carp highway."

Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania want to close locks and install barriers to stop the voracious fish.

U.S. Department of Justice attorney Maureen Rudolph says Congress has given the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discretion in how to deal with the problem.

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Michigan's assistant attorney general says the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes is at a "biological tipping point."

Robert Reichel spoke Monday during the first hearing in a multistate lawsuit about Asian carp.Five states want to close locks and install barriers to keep the voracious fish from populating the Great Lakes.

Reichel tells Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. in Chicago that the waterways have become a "carp highway."

The states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have asked the court to order immediate and long-term solutions.

But Department of Justice attorney Maureen Rudolph says Congress has given the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discretion in how to deal with the problem. She says lock closure would hurt commercial traffic on waterways.

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A hearing is scheduled in a multistate lawsuit that demands tougher federal and municipal action to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes and decimating their fishing industry.

It comes in a suit that Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania filed in U.S. District Court in northern Illinois.

The first hearing is Monday, and two days during the week of Aug. 30 are reserved for possible testimony.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed the complaining states twice.

The suit says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago of are creating a public nuisance by operating locks, gates and other infrastructure through which the carp could enter the lakes.