AP reported that a federal appeals panel has rejected a request by five Great Lakes states for an immediate order to close shipping locks on Chicago area waterways and take other steps to prevent Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan.

The three judge panel of the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the request by Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The states were appealing a decision by a federal district judge in Chicago in December 2010.

The states have a pending lawsuit that calls for closing the locks and quickening an Army Corps of Engineers study of whether to permanently sever the man-made link between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.

It says the locks could provide a pathway for the carp to invade the lakes and disrupt the food web.

(Sourced from Associated Press)