Asian Carp Could Mean Construction Bonanza

The Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative have released a million dollar study by Omaha based HDR, Inc. of methods for physically blocking the spread of predatory Asian Carp into Lake Michigan through the Chicago Area Waterway System. The study proposes three different options for physical obstruction of carp migration through the water system originally built to keep raw Chicago River sewage out of Lake Michigan.

The options all involve sheet pilings and impermeable land bridges within the navigable waterways, with the two more expensive options including intermodal cargo transfers and recreational boat lifts to maintain navigability. Costs of the various construction projects are predicted to range from $3.3 billion up to $9.5 billion, with a time line of 10 years before breaking ground, and completion in 2029.  The Army Corps of Engineers is also studying the Asian Carp problem, and in a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy, 31 Congressmen and Senators have asked her to include the HDR study in the Corps project to speed up the fish barrier.

Wastewater Treatment Construction Appropriations Expected Soon

Wednesday, March 4, the House Transportation Water Resources Subcommittee approved, on a voice vote, H.R. 1262, the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009, and sent the bill along to the full House Transportation Committee for consideration. The Act appropriates $13.8 billion over five years for waste water infrastructure projects, in addition to the billions already appropriated in the economic stimulus legislation. The only Republican objection to this particular appropriation is its imposition of Davis Bacon prevailing wage requirements on contractors who are awarded these projects. The bill is expected to pass both houses in regular order and create thousands of construction jobs in western and southwestern United States, as well as the Great Lakes area and along the Ohio River.