Instead of presiding over a groundbreaking ceremony for an invasive carp barrier near Joliet this week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker canceled the event and is delaying the transfer of land for the project.
Pritzker wants assurances that federal money approved for the carp barrier is going to be released by the Trump administration.
The $1.1 billion project to keep four invasive carp from getting into the Great Lakes needs the land to build parts of the barrier.
In a statement, Governor Pritzker said, “I have a responsibility to protect Illinois taxpayers.” Adding, “If the federal government does not live up to its obligations, Illinois could suffer the burden of hundreds of millions of dollars of liability.”
Scientists warn that if the invasive carp get into the Great Lakes, the $5.1 billion a year fishery could be severely harmed.
The carp were imported from Asia by catfish farmers to eat snails in ponds that carry a parasite that stunts the growth of the catfish. Another of the species keeps ponds on golf courses and suburban ponds clear of algae. Through flooding, the fish escaped and have infested the Mississippi River system which is connected to the Great Lakes through a human-made canal. The barrier is to prevent the fish from entering Lake Michigan.
“And so the issue here is that Illinois has postponed that land transfer, citing the need for assurances,” said Joel Brammeier, CEO and President of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
“Loads of federal programs are getting hit with where funding-holds and uncertainty and chaos right now. And so, I understand that the question of will the projects continue to be funded generally is a valid question,” he added
Governor Pritzker said the land transfer is paused, not cancelled.
“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.”
Parts of the massive construction project are ongoing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing work that has already been funded.
