Whitmer: Trump's invasive carp action a 'huge win' for Michigan, Great Lakes

• President Donald Trump told the federal government to move forward on a project to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes
• The project, backed by Michigan but based in Illinois, has been stalled after that state’s governor demanded federal funding guarantees
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and House Speaker Matt Hall met with Trump to urge action on the issue in April

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Friday aimed at kickstarting the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Illinois, a long-awaited series of barriers designed to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes. 

Trump’s memo directed his administration to streamline permitting and environmental reviews for the project, and “to expeditiously implement the most effective mechanisms, barriers, and other measures to prevent the migration and expansion of invasive carp” in the Great Lakes Basin and surrounding region, according to a White House fact sheet. 

The memo also pressured Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, setting a deadline of July 1 for his state to acquire land required for construction, along with 30-day deadlines for local permits to be granted to facilitate Army Corps construction, the White House said. 

The project is supported by Michigan, and Friday’s action by Trump follows a recent White House visit by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state House Speaker Matt Hall, who raised the issue with the president. 

In a statement, Whitmer called Trump’s invasive carp barrier memo a “huge win” and said she was “grateful to the president for his commitment.”

“I am grateful that, in the midst of a lot of change at the federal level, he is confirming that our federal partners are as committed as ever to getting this done,” she added.

Michigan and Illinois signed an agreement to build the barrier in 2021, and funding has been promised by the federal government and both states. But Pritzker put the project on hold earlier this year, citing uncertainty over federal funding amid other budget cuts by the administration.

Friday, Pritzker's office said Trump's memorandum gave Illinois "the necessary assurances ... to move toward completion of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project." 

Related:

• Trump praises Whitmer, vows to ramp up Asian carp fight to 'save Lake Michigan'
• Study: Asian carp could thrive in Lake Michigan, despite earlier doubts
• Trump, joined by Whitmer, announces new jets for Selfridge

The Brandon Road project in Joliet, Illinois, is designed to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes through a series of barriers, including bubble curtains, electricity, acoustics and flushing as barges are let through the lock and dam at the site.

Four species of invasive carp have spread throughout the Mississippi river basin and threaten to devastate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes if they enter the bodies of water, scientists say. Two of the species, bighead and silver carp, have been located within 47 miles of Lake Michigan in the Des Plaines River.

The Brandon Road project has been stalled since February, when Illinois delayed acquiring land rights to the river at the site of the project. Pritzker has argued the state can no longer count on the federal government to hold up its end of the agreement for the project’s funding. 

“We cannot move forward until the Trump Administration provides more certainty and clarity on whether they will follow the law and deliver infrastructure funds we were promised,” Pritzker said at the time. 

The project is expected to cost $1.15 billion, with $274 million in federal funding and $114 million in state funding from Michigan and Illinois to be used for construction of the first of three portions.

Whitmer and Hall discussed the project with Trump when they visited the White House in April — along with the importance of a new fighter mission for Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which Trump announced plans for last week. 

“We have to save Lake Michigan, because these fish, they eat everything in the way, including the other fish,” Trump said at the time, noting Whitmer had raised the Asian carp issue with him, and he had already spoken to the US Army Corps of Engineers about it.

Asian carp are seen as a major threat to walleye, yellow perch and whitefish if they invade Lake Michigan and spread. 

After first escaping from fish farms in the Mississippi River basin decades ago, the fish have spread aggressively and now may comprise more than 90 percent of the fish in some waterways in and around the Mississippi River.

The Michigan House passed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday urging Illinois to move forward with the project.

“Michigan continues to win because we show up, talk to anyone, and work together to get things done,” Whitmer said Friday, calling the planned carp barrier a “game-changing” project to protect the Great Lakes. 

“These fish, if allowed to enter the lakes, would destroy the ecosystem below the water and devastate our economy above it,” she said. “The Great Lakes are home to 3,500 plant and animal species and they support 1.5 million jobs that generate (more) than $60 billion in wages a year across the entire region.”

Hall, in a statement, called Friday's presidential memo a "big, important victory" for Michigan. 

"Protecting our Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp requires exactly this kind of aggressive, effective action," Hall said. "Commercial and sport fishing is a $7 billion industry in Michigan, and enjoying our Great Lakes is a way of life for everyone here."