CHICAGO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota have joined forces to seal Illinois waterways from the Great Lakes in a fight against an invasive carp, officials said.
Minnesota Monday joined Ohio and Michigan in a U.S. Supreme Court petition that asks for closure of the Chicago and O'Brien locks -- waterways in downtown Chicago and south suburban Burnham that handle hundreds of millions of dollars in shipping and recreational boating each year.
Closing the locks would have major repercussions for the Chicago area and require rerouting an enormous amount of freight overland, including jet fuel, coal and road salt, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Officials in Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota argue those obstacles are worth protecting the lakes' $7-billion-a-year fishing industry.
Federal and state officials from Illinois deliberately poisoned the locks several weeks ago, creating a massive fish kill after DNA samples showed the carp had evaded electronic barriers in the locks.
