U.S. Steel Joins Coalition to Help Keep Chicago Locks Open
07/15/2010 - The UnLock Our Jobs coalition announced several new members, including U.S. Steel Corp., Ports of Indiana, and American Agriculture Movement. The coalition works toward a comprehensive solution to stop the spread of Asian Carp, while leaving the Chicago locks open to commerce.
The UnLock Our Jobs coalition announced several new members, including U.S. Steel Corp., Ports of Indiana, and American Agriculture Movement. Other new members include Buckley Brothers Granary of Wilmington, Ohio; Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers; and Kirby Corp., a Texas barge operator.
The coalition notes that these new members indicate the broad scope of businesses and far-reaching impacts closure of the Chicago Area Waterway System would have.
"These new additions to the coalition indicate a new found concern for the debate over Asian carp on economic and environmental affairs, not only in Illinois, but in Indiana, Ohio, and states as far away as Texas," said Mark Biel, Executive Director of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois. "In an average week, the affected locks transport 140,000 tons of valuable commodities that fuel job creation and growth throughout the Midwest and Mississippi Valley.”
According to data from the State of Illinois on interstate shipping, over 77.5 million tons of commodities are shipped to 19 states using the Chicago Area Waterway System. Initial estimates have shown that lock closure could cost the regional economy $4.7 billion over the next 20 years, while doing nothing to reduce the risk of Asian carp reach the Great Lakes, according to the coalition.
The coalition stresses that with more than 30 additional control methods available that do not cause the economic devastation of lock closure, it is essential to fully explore those alternative options before closing the locks.
UnLock Our Jobs is a coalition of concerned labor, agriculture, and business organizations in the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley region. The coalition was founded to protect the operation of the Chicago Area Waterways System, the waterway connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin. The coalition works toward a comprehensive solution to stop the spread of Asian Carp, while leaving the Chicago locks open to commerce.
