Senator Baldwin’s Work to Finalize Critical Asian Carp Study Included in Final Bipartisan Legislation

President Trump signed the FY19 Energy and Water Development funding legislation

Bill will finalize strategy to block Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured language in the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2019 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill directing the Army Corps of Engineers to finalize the Brandon Road Study, a critical action-plan for blocking Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The President signed this appropriations legislation last week.

Senator Baldwin was successful last year in ensuring the draft-version of the Brandon Road Study was released publicly. Finalizing this critical effort is the next step in Senator Baldwin’s efforts to press for action and protect the Great Lakes fishery, a $7 billion industry.

“I’ve been sounding the alarm on the threat Asian carp pose to our Great Lakes, our quality of life in Wisconsin and our freshwater economy. We’ve got to move forward with the plan to address this enormous threat to our Great Lakes and our economy,” said Senator Baldwin. “The final bipartisan legislation that President Trump signed into law directs the federal government to finalize the study so we can move forward.”

The Brandon Road Study recommends specific measures to prevent Asian carp from getting beyond the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, a crucial chokepoint in the Chicago waterway system.