GLIN==> Reminder: Public ANS Meeting in St. Louis Area TOMORROW (UNCLASSIFIED)

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

(Press Release)

ST. LOUIS- On Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
is holding a public scoping meeting along with the Office of the Asian Carp
Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality, in Alton from 2:00
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the National Great Rivers Museum, located at 2 Locks &
Dam Way, to gather input on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin
Study (GLMRIS). The public is invited to attend this scoping meeting and to
provide comments on GLMRIS. Identical presentations about the study will be
given at 2:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m., each followed by the comment period. The
purpose of GLMRIS is to evaluate a range of options and technologies to
prevent the transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS), such as Asian carp,
between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River through aquatic pathways. 

Using input obtained during the scoping period, USACE will refine the scope
of GLMRIS to focus on significant issues, as well as eliminate issues that
are not significant from further detailed study. Issues associated with
GLMRIS are likely to include, but will not be limited to: significant natural
resources, such as ecosystems and threatened and endangered species;
commercial and recreational fisheries; recreational uses of the lakes and
waterways; effects of potential ANS controls on waterways uses such as: flood
risk management, commercial and recreational navigation; and statutory and
legal responsibilities relative to the effected waterways. 

In addition to St. Louis, USACE will hold upcoming public scoping meetings in
the following metropolitan locations: Vicksburg, Miss; Milwaukee, Wis.; New
Orleans, La. and Ann Arbor, Mich.  Specific meeting venues and dates will be
announced in Federal Register notices, the GLMRIS Web site and other media.

The public scoping comment period will end on March 31, 2011. If you plan to
make an oral comment, please register on the GLMRIS Web site. Comments can
also be submitted electronically through the Web site. Each scoping meeting
will consist of two separate three-hour sessions to allow as many attendees
as possible. 

An ANS is a nonindigenous species that threatens the diversity or abundance
of native species; the ecological stability of infested waters; or the
commercial, agricultural, aquacultural or recreational activities dependent
on such water. As a result of international commerce, travel and local
practices, ANS have been introduced and spread throughout the Great Lakes and
Mississippi River basins. Connected primarily by man-made channels, ANS
transfer was impeded historically by the poor water quality of those
waterways. Recent water quality improvements have lessened that impediment
making it more likely for ANS transfer between the two basins to occur.
	
For more information regarding GLMRIS, the meeting agenda and scoping
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, visit the GLMRIS Web
site at www.glmris.anl.gov or call Dave Wethington, GLMRIS project manager,
at 312-846-5522 or e-mail at David.M.Wethington at usace.army.mil.
Facebook.com/glmris and Twitter @GLMRIS. 

Media Event from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. 

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Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE