Appeals Court Won't Close Chicago Locks Over Carp
TRAVERSE CITY (AP) - A federal appeals panel has rejected a request by five Great Lakes states for an immediate order to close shipping locks on Chicago-area waterways and take other steps to prevent Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan.
The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday against the request by Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The states were appealing a decision by a federal district judge in Chicago last December.
The states have a pending lawsuit that calls for closing the locks and quickening an Army Corps of Engineers study of whether to permanently sever the man-made link between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.
It says the locks could provide a pathway for the carp to invade the lakes and disrupt the food web.
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