Injunction denied in carp case

Injunction denied in carp case    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a motion by the state of Michigan for a preliminary injunction to close shipping locks on the Chicago to prevent an invasive species of carp from Asia from gaining access to Lake Michigan and other parts of the Great Lakes.
   Michigan, joined by New York, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario, sought a court order closing the Chicago River locks to block a feared invasion of carp from the Mississippi River system to the Great Lakes.
   U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan argued against the preliminary injunction. While saying “the possibility that Asian carp will move into the Great Lakes is a matter of great concern to the United States,” Kagan argued, “federal agencies are undertaking concerted, collaborative efforts to combat that risk, as Congress has directed.”
   While Michigan asked the court to hold that the existing measures were unlawfully inadequate, Kagan argued, “Michigan cannot make the extraordinarily high showing necessary to obtain a preliminary injunction.”
   The court agreed, issuing a one-sentence order: “The motion of Michigan for preliminary injunction is denied.”
   The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the decision.

Allegretti

   Thomas Allegretti, AWO's president and chief executive officer, said closing the waterway would have had “disastrous consequences” to consumers in the Midwest, the towing industry and “all the industries and companies that rely on the essential commodities shipped by barge,” such as coal for utilities, industrial steel, iron ore, petroleum, home heating oil, road salt, deicing liquid for airliners and gasoline.
   Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm called for the White House to immediately establish a summit with Great Lakes governors to discuss the growing Asian Carp threat.
   “Asian Carp threaten the well-being of our Great Lakes, and ultimately, the well-being of Michigan,” Granholm said. “It is disappointing that the Supreme Court declined to aid in our fight against these aquatic invaders, so we now ask the White House to work with us in finding a solution before it is too late.”