WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - An environmental leader from Indiana will represent the Obama administration in the effort to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality named John Goss Wednesday to coordinate response efforts by federal, state, and local agencies. He’ll also be the primary adviser on the subject to Council director Nancy Sutley. And he’ll carry out a $78.5 million strategy announced in February to keep the invasive carp at bay.
Goss has headed Indiana’s chapter of the National Wildlife Federation for the last four years. He’s also a former head of the Indiana DNR, and former vice chairman of the Great Lakes Commission.
The White House plan includes a stronger electronic barrier near Lake Michigan to prevent the bloated Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. It also includes a host of other upgrades in technology and infrastructure.
Critics have said the plan does not have any timetables – and it’s too weak, because it does not support the closing of Chicago’s shipping gates which link the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River.
Wisconsin and 4 other states have sued the federal government to close the shipping locks and make other improvements. A second day of testimony in that lawsuit is being heard Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.
