Reps. Thompson, Heck, Amodei introduce bipartisan bill adding quagga mussels to national invasive species list

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2013

Thompson Contact: Austin Vevurka

Phone: (202) 226-7364

Heck Contact: Greg Lemon

Phone: (202) 590-0129

Amodei Contact: Brian Baluta

Phone: (202) 225-6155

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5), Joe Heck (NV-3), and Mark Amodei (NV-02) today announced that they introduced H.R. 1823, the Protecting Lakes Against Quagga Act of 2013 which would add quagga mussels to the national list of invasive species. This listing gives federal agencies greater ability to prevent the spread of the invasive species.

“These invasive species wreak havoc on boats, concentrate pollutants and litter shores with razor sharp shells,” said Thompson. “When these mussels clog pipes, they suppress our ability to deliver water, protect our communities against fires, and irrigate farms. This bill will help us prevent the spread of quaggas and save taxpayers millions in maintenance costs.”

"Quagga mussels pose a constant threat to our local environment and economy. In Nevada, the Bureau of Reclamation at Hoover Dam alone spends $1 million annually on quagga mussel control”, said Heck. “This is a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will ease the burden on taxpayers in Nevada, protect Lake Mead from further being invaded by this species, and prevent other lakes across the country from being affected in the future.”

“Halting the spread of the invasive quagga mussels is vital from practical and environmental perspectives,” said Amodei. “The quaggas do costly damage to our water infrastructure, which in the West is a serious matter, and they pose a threat to ecosystems, such as Lake Tahoe, which we work so hard to protect. If we wait for administrative action to declare the quaggas an invasive species, it may already be too late.”

The most common way for quagga mussels to spread from lake to lake is by “hitchhiking” on recreational boats. Listing quagga mussels as an invasive species will give federal agencies more authority to check boats crossing state lines or entering federal land.

While quagga mussels can only spread by “hitchhiking,” once they are established in a lake they multiply quickly and are extremely expensive and difficult to remove.

Since their invasion in the 1980’s, quagga mussels, and their close relative Zebra mussels, have cost more than $5 billion in prevention and control – more than any other aquatic species. While Zebra Mussels are on the invasive species list, quagga mussels are not.

In the 5th Congressional district, Clear Lake, Lake Sonoma, and Lake Berryessa are all rated at the highest possible risk for quagga invasion. Currently none of these lakes has been invaded by quagga mussels. However, if quaggas invade one of these lakes, control and treatment would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and impact the water supply for residents in Sonoma, Lake, and Solano Counties.

If quagga mussels invade the state water infrastructure it could cost millions every year to keep the pipes clear.

Administrative action to put quagga mussels on the invasive species list takes an average of 10 years. HR 1823 would do the same thing right now.

HR 1823 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

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