Fisheries committee  Thank you.

Fisheries committee  It was the first unexpected malfunction. About two years ago it was necessary to bring down the barriers for routine maintenance. Because there was uncertainty about a backup barrier at that time, it was necessary to do extensive rotenone poisoning and treatment of this particular portion, which is called the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Fisheries committee  There has been one bighead carp in particular in the Lake Calumet region. As recently as last week, apparently there were 14 additional hits of the environmental DNA. That has been the primary means, if you will, of an early warning that they have gotten beyond it. A couple have been found in ponds in the Chicago area, but the only way they could have gotten there was by human transport.

Fisheries committee  Yes, we are.

Fisheries committee  That's correct.

Fisheries committee  It is undetermined at this point, but I think that with a project of this magnitude and given the scope of its significance across the Great Lakes.... Really, this is very much in the interest of the Mississippi River communities as well, because far more invasive species have gone from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi than have gone the other direction.

Fisheries committee  The primary opposition is coming from the transportation sector. The barge industry, in particular, relies quite heavily on the Chicago Area Waterway System. However, the barge traffic in the Chicago area has progressively grown smaller and smaller, and at this point represents less than 3% of the movement of goods and materials in the Chicago area.

Fisheries committee  That is correct.

Fisheries committee  It's about two-thirds Canadian and one-third U.S., with a total of roughly 15 million people represented. The number of people is split a little more evenly between the two countries. We have more Canadian cities than U.S. cities, and I think 16 or 17 are from Quebec.

Fisheries committee  Well, I'm not an electrical engineer, but I've followed this fairly closely. There are three barriers in this location slightly south and west of Chicago, about 40 miles from the lakefront. Electrical energy pulses are sent through the water, and somehow or other—although they have to be careful about this—they don't electrocute people when they go over in boats.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the committee. It is a real pleasure to be here, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is David Ullrich. I am executive director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. I also serve as a U.S. commissioner on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a joint U.S.

Natural Resources committee  We would be very happy to provide that. We did submit extensive comments with technical background to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and we would be very happy to provide all of that to you as well.

Natural Resources committee  What I said to Warden Smith, and I will say again today, is that I apologize for whatever consultation we did not provide. We did provide, very unusually, an opportunity for Warden Smith and Mayor Bradley to participate in one of our board of directors' calls. Warden Smith is correct that there were only three board members present, but very frequently the board members send their representatives.

Natural Resources committee  I wouldn't necessarily agree that they were impacted the most, because the exposures are really occurring in the shipment. It appears that a policy decision has been made here as well as in the U.S. that the most secure place to keep it is on site.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely. That is at the heart of the matter. The difficulty is not when the radioactive waste is in the steel containers, where I agree there is great protection. The real problem here is the true risk that is presented. As soon as you take it out of secure storage and put it into transportation, the risk goes up significantly, and that has not been quantified.