July 13, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 125 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SUPPORTING THE GROTHMAN AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GLENN GROTHMAN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 13, 2020

  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
letter in support of my amendment to H.R. 2. This letter is from a 
stakeholder in my district that owns and operates the dam located in 
waters where invasive species, like Asian carp, have been found.
                                                     July 9, 2020.
     Hon. Glenn Grothman,
     Member of Congress, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Mark Pocan,
     Member of Congress, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representatives Grothman and Pocan: I am writing in 
     strong support of your invasive species amendment to H.R. 2, 
     the INVEST in America Act which passed the House by unanimous 
     consent on July 1, 2020. Alliant Energy deeply appreciates 
     your commitment to this pro-environment measure and for 
     protecting Wisconsin's watersheds.
       As you know, an Alliant subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and 
     Light, owns and operates a dam located in Prairie du Sac, 
     Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin River. The Prairie du Sac dam, 
     now over 100 years old, is responsible for the formation of 
     Lake Wisconsin, which serves as an enormous recreational and 
     wildlife resource for our state.
       Over a decade ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
     sought to impose a fishway requirement on the license for the 
     dam, essentially calling for a ``fishway'' to be installed to 
     allow for the upstream migration of native fish. Since that 
     time, however, scientists and state officials have discovered 
     the existence of non-native, invasive fish species (Asian 
     carp) at the base of the dam. If a fishway were now 
     installed, it seems clear that these invasive species would 
     also be able to migrate--and thereby endanger native fish 
     populations upstream, including Lake Wisconsin.
       Your amendment would ensure that, in this particular case, 
     the Fish and Wildlife Service would be required to consider 
     the threats posed by invasive species before imposing a 
     fishway condition on a hydroelectric license. We believe 
     strongly that such decisions should be predicated on the most 
     up to date information available, and your amendment will 
     help guarantee that invasive species are not permitted to 
     threaten the Lake Wisconsin watershed.
       Again, thank you for offering your amendment. Please let me 
     know how Alliant Energy may assist you in ushering this much-
     needed provision into public law.
           Sincerely,

                                                David de Leon,

     President--Wisconsin Power and Light Company, Alliant Energy.

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