<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
<item congress="114" measure-type="s" measure-number="589" measure-id="id114s589" originChamber="SENATE" orig-publish-date="2015-02-26" update-date="2016-03-08">
<title>Defending Our Great Lakes Act of 2015</title>
<summary summary-id="id114s589v00" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2016-03-08">
<action-date>2015-02-26</action-date>
<action-desc>Introduced in Senate</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Defending Our Great Lakes Act of 2015</b></p> <p>This bill requires federal agencies to take immediate actions to prevent the upstream transfer of aquatic nuisance species from the Mississippi River basin to the Great Lakes basin through the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site. The actions must place a special focus on Asian carp species and other aquatic nuisance species of concern to the Great Lakes referred to in the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. </p> <p>The Army Corps must implement measures to improve the site to prevent the upstream transfer of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species swimming through the lock and dam, including by constructing an engineered channel in the approach to the site from the Mississippi River direction.</p> <p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must implement all appropriate measures around the site on the Illinois River to prevent the upstream transfer of swimming and floating aquatic nuisance species, with a focus on Asian carp species.</p> <p> Federal entities must take actions for the long-term prevention of the transfer of aquatic nuisance species between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins, including through the Chicago Area Waterway System. The Army Corps must design, engineer, and construct flood mitigation and water quality measures on the Chicago Area Waterway System related to preventing such transfer.</p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
</item>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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