I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 51 

To direct the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to 

conduct a study of the feasibility of a variety of approaches to eradicating 

Asian carp from the Great Lakes and their tributary and connecting 

waters. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. KIRK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service to conduct a study of the feasibility of a variety 

of approaches to eradicating Asian carp from the Great 

Lakes and their tributary and connecting waters. 

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 ‘‘Eradicating Asian 

5 Carp in the Great Lakes Study Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ASIAN CARP ERADICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United States 

8 Fish and Wildlife Service shall conduct a study to— 


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•HR 51 IH

1 (1) identify methods to eradicate Asian carp 

2 from the Illinois Waterway System, including meth3 ods for harvesting Asian carp; and 

4 (2) evaluate the feasibility and costs of each 

5 such method. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Director shall conduct the 

7 study under subsection (a) in consultation with— 

8 (1) the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

9 and Atmospheric Administration; and 

10 (2) at least two interstate bodies representing 

11 the Mississippi River and Great Lakes States. 

12 (c) CONTENTS.—The study shall include, at a min13 imum, an evaluation of the feasibility of temporarily har14 vesting Asian carp as a method for eradicating the carp 

15 from the Illinois River. Such evaluation shall include eval16 uations of— 

17 (1) species biomass and distribution for all fish 

18 species in the Illinois River, including a comparison 

19 with historical biomass and distribution data if such 

20 data is available; 

21 (2) possible harvesting methods for Asian carp; 

22 (3) possible products that could be generated 

23 from Asian carp; 

24 (4) available types of temporary processing lo25 cations for harvested Asian carp; 


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1 (5) the environmental effects of constructing 

2 and operating temporary processing facilities at such 

3 locations; 

4 (6) methods to repopulate the Illinois River eco5 system with native species; and 

6 (7) the effect of Asian carp on the Illinois River 

7 ecosystem if temporary harvesting of Asian Carp is 

8 not conducted. 

9 (d) REPORT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta11 tion with the Administrator, shall submit to Con12 gress a report containing the findings, conclusions, 

13 and recommendations resulting from the study 

14 under subsection (a). 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include rec16 ommendations concerning— 

17 (A) regulatory and other mechanisms to 

18 ensure— 

19 (i) expeditious action to address the 

20 Asian carp problem; 

21 (ii) effective eradication of such carp; 

22 and 

23 (iii) that an appropriate deadline is 

24 set for the completion of harvesting of such 

25 carp; 


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1 (B) preferred harvesting methods for 

2 Asian carp; 

3 (C) the ideal quantity and distribution 

4 of— 

5 (i) temporary processing locations for 

6 harvested Asian carp; and 

7 (ii) temporary buying stations for har8 vested Asian carp; and 

9 (D) methods to repopulate the Illinois 

10 River ecosystem with native species. 

11 (e) DEADLINES.—The Director shall— 

12 (1) begin the study under subsection (a) not 

13 later than three months after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act; 

15 (2) complete the study not later than 15 

16 months after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

17 (3) submit the report under subsection (d) not 

18 later than three months after the date of completion 

19 of the study. 

Æ 


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