Supporting the Grothman Amendment to H.R. 2

Floor Speech

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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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