The Petition for Writ of Certiorari asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s decision and order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take immediate action.
For Immediate Release
October 26, 2011
For More Information Contact:
Dana Brueck
608/266-1221
MADISON — Today, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen took another step to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources from the effects of the Asian Carp by joining the Attorneys General of four other states — Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania — in a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Petition asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the August 24, 2011, ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago and order the following: require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install block nets in the Little Calumet and Grand Calumet rivers, which are vulnerable to Asian Carp invasion between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes Basins; and, require the Corps to expedite the completion of its study of permanent ecological separation at Chicago, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.
The 7th Circuit’s decision affirmed a federal district court ruling which denied Wisconsin and other plaintiff states a preliminary injunction to stop the migration of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.
“This petition is yet another step in the fight, and we’ll continue to seek every legal option at our disposal to protect Wisconsin waters and the Great Lakes – now,” Attorney General Van Hollen said today. “The 7th Circuit recognized the threat, but the Corps needs to be compelled to act more quickly.”
In September, Attorney General Van Hollen joined the Attorneys General of 16 other states in a letter to the U.S. Congress, urging members to block the continued spread of damaging invasive species between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins.
The coalition believes a permanent ecological separation at Chicago is necessary to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, which travel in the ballast water of vessels and spread through the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River by way of Chicago-area waterways.
Today’s Petition is available at the following link:
http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/asian-carp-petition-for-writ-certiorari.pdf
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