Kaptur presses Trump Administration on Brandon Road Study and protecting Great Lakes from Asian carp

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, today demanded answers from the Army Corps of Engineers about the unexpected delay in the release of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam study during a bipartisan, bicameral Great Lakes Task Force hearing. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam study will provide important guidance on how best to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

"Today's hearing merely confirmed what we had all assumed: the decision to delay this report was entirely political and not based on any real desire to protect the Great Lakes," said Kaptur. "To call on the Corps to seek further input from the ‘navigation community' is illogical, given that those groups signed a 2015 letter in support of this study. They should not receive preferential treatment over millions of people who rely on the Great Lakes.

"The Administration should expect to keep hearing from Great Lakes legislators and the people of Ohio on this issue. They can't bury their heads in the sand moving forward to prevent the Asian carp's advance into the Great Lakes – it is too important to our region," Kaptur continued.

The White House Advisor to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, Brad Beyer, reported that the delay of the report came at the behest of the Administration who instructed the Corps to seek further coordination and guidance from the navigation community. When asked about the timeline for release, Beyer stated it was contingent on Senate confirmation of Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

Today's action comes after Kaptur led a bipartisan letter to the Trump Administration demanding the release of the Brandon Road Study. Asian carp represent a serious economic and environmental threat to the Great Lakes and this report is a critical next step in finding and implementing a solution.

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