High Court refuses to hear carp issue

High Court refuses to hear carp issue    The U.S. Supreme Court once again on Monday declined to hear a request by Michigan and six other states seeking to shut down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal because of fears that the waterway is providing a conduit for invasive Asian carp to get from the Mississippi River system into Lake Michigan.
   The court did not give an explanation on its decision not to hear the case.
   Michigan’s lawsuit calling for a permanent separation of the Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River basin was supported by Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and the Province of Ontario.
   Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox Tuesday said the state would seek legislation to close the canal.
   “President Obama has turned a blind eye to the millions of Great Lakes residents who do not happen to live in his home state of Illinois,' Cox said. 'it is now up to him to save thousands of Michigan jobs and our environment.”
   American Waterways Operators, a barge industry group, said an economic study found that Chicago area lock closures would have a minimum impact of $4.7 billion.
   The study by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development commissioned by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce said there would also be more air pollution and highway congestion if cargo shipped on water by barge was put on trucks.