5 states to continue suit demanding Asian carp fix

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Asian Carp
In this Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006 file photo, a bighead carp, front, a species of the Asian carp, swims in a new exhibit that highlights plants and animals that eat or compete with Great Lakes native species, at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.
AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

By JOHN FLESHER
AP Environmental Writer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Five states are continuing a lawsuit against the federal government demanding action to prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes, despite recent congressional action.

Legislation approved last month requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a plan for shielding the lakes from the invasive carp within 18 months. A quicker timetable was one of the requests in the suit filed in 2010 by Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

But a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Thursday the legislation doesn't guarantee that the corps will physically separate Lake Michigan from carp-infested waters in the Mississippi River basin near Chicago. The lawsuit seeks a court order to do that.

The case recently was assigned to a new judge and hasn't been scheduled for trial.

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