Greenwire: Closing two Chicago-area navigational locks to prevent the spread of Asian carp would cause $4.7 billion in economic damage over the next 20 years, more than three times as much as estimated by a previous study, according to a new Illinois-commissioned report.
Michigan, which has filed a Supreme Court lawsuit against Illinois over the spread of invasive species through Chicago’s waterways, commissioned the previous study to bolster its argument that closing the locks would not destroy Chicago’s economy. Its study concluded that the lock closures would cost about $1.4 billion over 20 years.
Illinois’ study factors in additional effects on recreational boaters and tour boats, which would no longer be able to move between the Great Lakes and the Chicago river system, as well as flood prevention infrastructure.
“You start looking at the combined effects of tourism and economic development and you start to understand why the city is concerned about the prospects of closing the locks,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a public policy analyst at DePaul University who conducted the study.
John Sellek, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (R), said Schwieterman’s study overstates the economic effects of closing the locks because Michigan has not asked that the locks remain closed during floods.
“They are trying to raise the price tag, and people’s fears, with the threat of flooding,” Sellek said. “However, our lawsuit already addresses that issue, and they know it” (Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune, April 7). – GN