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Friday, April 23, 2010

Environment - Again: "Asian carp debates heads to Supreme Court"

Nathan Hurst reports today in the Detroit News:

The court has twice rejected -- in January, and last month -- emergency injunction requests to force the closure of the locks and canals. A court spokesman confirmed Thursday justices are scheduled to conference on the matter today behind closed doors. A decision on the case likely wouldn't be issued until Monday at the earliest.

Patricia McCabe, public information officer for the court, said the justices could decide to appoint a so-called "special master" to look at the case's merits.

"Cases between states are one of the few areas where the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction," she said. Supreme masters issue recommendations to the justices after collecting evidence on their behalf.

The filing takes an interesting tack in approaching the carp issue. The case -- structured by Attorney General Mike Cox, also a Republican gubernatorial candidate -- seeks to reopen a 1922 case in which Illinois was asked by other Great Lakes states to not open canals and locks that would allow waste and navigational water to mix into Lake Michigan.

Other states have joined in the case, including Indiana, which opposed the initial calls for an immediate closure of the locks. In February, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined the appeal for the High Court to look at the case.

The showdown over the Asian carp escalated late last year when federal authorities announced they discovered conclusive DNA evidence that the invasive fish had reached Chicago-area waters connected to Lake Michigan.

Earlier Asian carp entries here.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 23, 2010 08:07 AM
Posted to Environment