Army corps to release delayed report on blocking Asian carp

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will release a previously delayed report on measures that could be taken at an Illinois waterway chokepoint to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.

The corps says the report involving the Brandon Road Lock and Dam will be made public Aug. 7. Project manager Andrew Leichty says it will evaluate “structural and non-structural options and technologies.”

The lock and dam in Joliet, Illinois, is part of an aquatic pathway between the carp-infested Illinois River and a Chicago-area opening to Lake Michigan.

The corps had been expected to release the report in February but the Trump administration delayed it. Some Illinois officials say upgrading the lock and dam could hamper commercial shipping.

Members of Congress from other Great Lakes states and environmental groups say the report is long overdue.