II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 471 

To require the Secretary of the Army to study the feasibility of the 

hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2011 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEVIN, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Army to study the feasibility 

of the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes and 

Mississippi River Basins. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Asian Carp Act 

5 of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CAWS.—The term ‘‘CAWS’’ means the 

9 Chicago Area Water System. 


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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the United States Geological Survey. 

3 (3) HYDROLOGICAL SEPARATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘hydrological separation’’ means a physical separa5 tion on the CAWS that— 

6 (A) would disconnect the Mississippi River 

7 from Lake Michigan; and 

8 (B) shall be designed to be adequate in 

9 scope to prevent the transfer of aquatic species 

10 between each of those bodies of water. 

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief 

13 of Engineers. 

14 (5) STUDY.—The term ‘‘study’’ means the fea15 sibility study described in section 101(a). 

16 TITLE I—FEASIBILITY STUDY 

17 SEC. 101. FEASIBILITY STUDY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, pursuant to 

20 section 206 of the Flood Control Act of 1958 (Public Law 

21 85–500; 72 Stat. 317), shall initiate a study of the water22 sheds of the following rivers (including the tributaries of 

23 the rivers) that drain directly into Lake Michigan: 

24 (1) The Illinois River, at and in the vicinity of 

25 Chicago, Illinois. 


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1 (2) The Chicago River in the State of Illinois. 

2 (3) The Calumet River in the States of Illinois 

3 and Indiana. 

4 (b) PURPOSE OF STUDY.—The purpose of the study 

5 shall be to determine the feasibility and best means of im6 plementing the hydrological separation of the Great Lakes 

7 and Mississippi River Basins to prevent the introduction 

8 or establishment of populations of aquatic nuisance spe9 cies between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins 

10 through the CAWS and other aquatic pathways. 

11 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF STUDY.— 

12 (1) OPTIONS.—The study shall include options 

13 to address— 

14 (A) flooding; 

15 (B) Chicago wastewater and stormwater 

16 infrastructure; 

17 (C) waterway safety operations; and 

18 (D) barge and recreational vessel traffic al19 ternatives, which shall include— 

20 (i) examining other modes of trans21 portation for cargo and CAWS users; and 

22 (ii) creating engineering designs to 

23 move canal traffic from 1 body of water to 

24 another body of water without transferring 

25 aquatic species. 


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1 (2) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—The study shall 

2 contain a detailed analysis of the environmental ben3 efits and costs of each option described in paragraph 

4 (1). 

5 (3) ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER STUDY.—The 

6 study shall be conducted in association with the 

7 study required under section 3061(d) of the Water 

8 Resources Development Act of 2007 (Public Law 

9 110–114; 121 Stat. 1121). 

10 (4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study, 

11 the Secretary shall consult with any relevant expert 

12 or stakeholder knowledgeable on the issues of 

13 hydrological separation and aquatic nuisance species. 

14 (d) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall complete the 

15 study by not later than the date that is 18 months after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 102. REPORT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare a re19 port on the waterways described in section 101(a) in ac20 cordance with— 

21 (1) the purpose described in section 101(b); and 

22 (2) each requirement described in section 

23 101(c). 

24 (b) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall submit to Con25 gress and the President— 


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1 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, an initial report under this 

3 section; 

4 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en5 actment of this Act, an interim report under this 

6 section; and 

7 (3) not later than 18 months after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, a final report under this sec9 tion. 

10 SEC. 103. FEDERAL EXPENSE REQUIREMENT. 

11 The Secretary shall carry out this Act at full Federal 

12 expense. 

13 SEC. 104. PRESIDENTIAL OVERSIGHT. 

14 The President, or the Council on Environmental 

15 Quality, acting as a designee of the President, shall over16 see the study to ensure the thoroughness and timely com17 pletion of the study. 

18 TITLE II—RESPONSE TO 

19 ADDITIONAL THREATS 

20 SEC. 201. RESPONSE. 

21 (a) MONITORING CONNECTING WATERS.—To iden22 tify additional threats that could allow Asian Carp to enter 

23 the Great Lakes Basin, the Director, in cooperation with 

24 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv25 ice, shall monitor and survey all waters that connect to 


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1 the Great Lakes Basin or could connect to the Great 

2 Lakes Basin due to— 

3 (1) flooding; 

4 (2) underground hydrological connection; or 

5 (3) human-made diversion. 

6 (b) RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL THREATS.—As soon 

7 as practicable after the date of identification of a threat 

8 under subsection (a), the Director, in cooperation with the 

9 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

10 shall— 

11 (1) prioritize each threat; and 

12 (2) help identify means to impede the passage 

13 of Asian Carp to the Great Lakes Basin. 

14 (c) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER ACTORS.—In car15 rying out subsections (a) and (b), the Director, in coopera16 tion with the Director of the United States Fish and Wild17 life Service, shall consult with each relevant— 

18 (1) Federal agency; 

19 (2) State; and 

20 (3) stakeholder. 

Æ 


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