Last week, Illinois officials, along an area of 50 acres of the river canal on the Chicago channel, have taken another effort to prevent an environmental disaster from reaching Lake Michigan.
There, on a shrapnel from the ground where the coal -running power plant stands at once, the state plans to last stand against the Asian -Asian carp. It wants to build a $ 1.1 billion barrier, called the Brandon Road Interplasin project, to keep the fierce predator in particular of the muscles through the canal that connects the Mississippi River basin with Great lakes.
But to prevent fish from violating the gap, the country needs more land. He has a few acres in mind, but there is hunting: the land Coal stimulantThe secondary cancer product for burning this fossil fuel to generate electricity.
No one knows the certainty of the extent of pollution or its effects on public health because the Middle West generation, which was running the power plant, refused to allow anyone on the site before signing the deal. But Illinoi should Treat any land It is acquired before it was converted into the American Army Engineers Corps in order to start the project.
Now Illinois has been arrested in Wales: Officials must prevent gas carbonate from swinging a flat environmental ball to the great lakes with possible serious effects on millions of dollars in fish fisheries and an entertainment economy. “I do not know why Illinoi adheres to the transfer of the rest of the lands,” said Don Judri, director of federal relations of the non -profit alliance of Great Lakes. “These lands are needed now.”
Joddery’s urgency reflects the darkness and dark complementarity account. The longer the state is longing for the site’s insurance and cleaning, the longer the carp’s chance to infiltrate into Lake Michigan and the waterways outside it. Only 40 miles separate fish from the largest ecosystem of freshwater on this planet. But stopping them means that communication with a legacy of poison pollution that leaves it is certain that taxpayers, not the Middle West generation, to gain the chaos that he left behind.
The company’s spokesman, Eric Linden, said that the Middle West generation refused to comment on property discussions for each agreement with Illinois.
Last week, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker praised the company, which declared bankruptcy in 2012, for its sake.Generous donation“Of the 50 acres, which is a critical part of the first phase of the Brandon Road project. The ruler had placed the barrier in February, worried that the Trump administration would take place Kill federal funding for that.
But the White House expressed its complete support for this effort earlier this month. A letter obtained by GRIT revealed that on May 8, the Illinois Force Corps confirmed that it had received $ 100 million for the first stage of construction. Officials confirmed that the donated expulsion is not subject to treatment – only the remaining land is still closed in negotiation.
Pritzker did not respond to the request for comment, but he told Grist last year, “We are concerned that Illinois taxpayers are asking them to restrict the environmental treatment bill associated with the construction of the Brandon Road project.
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco / Grist
The term “gaseous carp” is brief for four original types of China: Bighead, black, grass, and silver. They were presented to fish farms in the southern United States in the 1970s to control algae. They escaped from imprisonment for about a decade after their arrival and infiltrated since then to the Mississippi River basin. Research has shown that there is now More silver and pods in the extensions of the Illinois River From anywhere else in the world.
“It is a carp fact.” “It is difficult to put words until you see thousands of carp in the air jumping from the water.”
The carp, known as its 10 -feet long ways, has made an extension of the river dangerous for boats and fishermen alike. Under the surface, the fish – silver and the bolts in particular – spoil the chaos. Hardy creatures are fierce and grow quickly, and leave a little food or habitats for local species such as GZZARD Shad and Buffalo, both of them are both Now in retreat.
However, the progress of the carp, which was unbearable north, about 40 miles from Lake Michigan. “They stopped,” Susky said. Scientists suspect that pollutants in sewage in Chicago – although within the legal and safe limits of humans – may repel fish. “There is something in the water,” said Austin Habli, the Shedd Aquarium research scientist. “It is likely that there is something imperceptible because it prevents this specified group of fish from immigration to further.”
former studies Discover the volatile medications and organic compounds in the area. Scientists have found this Chicago water He leaves the carp tense and back, and in some cases it brings some individuals to a Full pause.
Illinois officials have become creative because they tried to curb the carp since they arrived at Illinois again in Nineties. They rename the swimmers as “Copi“To Motivating the demand between fishermen and chefs. They sponsored an additional program that pays further commercial fishing operations 10 cents For every pound of animals, even financing A comprehensive harvestOne of them removed up to 750,000 pounds of Pescine lesions on the river interface from the Rock State Park.
The Brandon Road project is largely the most deterrent. The underwater castle takes advantage of a narrow extension of the des planes rivers, where engineers want to install a group of four barricades aimed at repelling the carp through electric shocks, sound bombings, bubble curtains, and lock that can expel water discomfort.
Besides the fact that the ideal location of the project is severely contaminated with other concerns. The documents obtained by GRIS reveal fears from the two parties about their years of cost. “If dangerous materials are ultimately discovered in objective property, this will create possible and unacceptable astronomical rights expenses for Illinois.” Pritzker expressed similar Fears last year.
Last year, the Legion reached an agreement to build the barrier with the support of Illinois and Michigan. The federal government agreed to cover 90 percent of the long -term costs of the project. Michigan pledged up to 30 million dollars towards treatment. However, this money is to pay the cleaning costs of the project site – a small part of Juliet’s property of the Middle West generation.
The state has been familiar with pollution since 2010, when the Illinois organizers began requesting the monitoring of the groundwater of the Chamad of coal. This supervision has discovered groundwater pollution in all four coal factories in the Middle West: three in the outskirts of Chicago, including the Juliet website, which is scheduled for the Brandon Road project, and one in the center of Illinois.
Sierra club and many other organizations launched a 13 -year battle with the Elli -Western Control Council to force the Middle West generation to treat this situation. These measures have reached a critical stage about a year ago. “The pollution control council in Illinois indicated that the Middle West generation is already violating the Illinois Law in these four sites by managing ash and getting rid of ash,” said Fayth Bash, a lawyer at Sierra Club, who worked in the case for more than a decade. “We are now in the treatment phase, where the Board of Directors decides what to put in place in response to violations.”
In light of the treatment of the recent state with the Middle West generation, Popel is still interested in suspended litigation, which will be left to clean up toxic pollution – and what will cost them. Meanwhile, the project’s schedule remains narrow. The initial site was prepared in January and is expected to conclude by the end of June.
At the present time, Illinois comments between crises: carp is close to Lake Michigan, and the best opportunity to stop them requires dealing with toxic pollution. The only question is the one who will be on a hook to clean.
