Final step on Asian carp protection difficult to achieve

As it has become clear that the electrical barrier constructed to prevent Asian carp from moving any closer to the Great Lakes has not worked, there are increasing calls for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which links the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, to be closed down. But as the Detroit Free Press reports, that will be much easier said than done.

Environmental groups are joined by Michigan legislators in demanding that next step to keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes, where experts say the Asian carp would devastate the ecosystem of the lakes and starve out native species. Sen. Carl Levin is circulating a letter in Congress urging the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA to consider shutting off the canal.

But the canal was built for a reason and there are powerful interests and large amounts of money at stake. In particular, about 24 million tons of oil, coal and other products travel through the canal on barges:

Barge operators, who move cargo such as oil and coal to the Midwest through the canal, don’t want to see the canal closed even temporarily.

Pressure from barge and tugboat groups kept the new electric barrier in the canal from being turned on when it was completed in 2006.

Their fears that electrical sparks would ignite cargo, or that people could be electrocuted, led to lengthy safety testing, which meant the barrier was turned on only last April — and only at one-quarter strength.

The American Waterways Operators argue that moving goods on barges is the most economical method, saves wear and congestion on the nation’s roads and is less polluting than trucks or railcars. Requiring barges to offload cargo like coal or gravel to trucks or railcars at some point along the canal would cost consumers more, they say.

But proponents of closing the canal argue that those concerns don’t outweigh the potential harm and cost to the Great Lakes, which provide drinking water for 40 million people.

There are big moneyed interests involved here and a key question: Does the fact that President Obama is from Chicago affect his position on the issue? And if so, in which direction? So far, Obama has been a staunch advocate for Great Lakes protection and restoration. Let’s hope that continues.