While federal officials struggle to prevent Asian carp from swimming from the Illinois River into the Great Lakes, Sen. Sherrod Brown outlined the Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act on Wednesday he hopes can stop the dogged advance of the noxious carp up the Ohio River Basin.

“We know the importance of the Great Lakes and the Ohio River Basin, and how important they are in driving our economy,” said Brown, on a conference call from Washington. Brown said Asian carp threaten drinking water, fishing and boating in both watersheds.

A stumbling block is the determination of the invasive carp to expand their range. Carp escaping from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facilities and fish farms along the Mississippi River decades ago are responsible for today’s infestation. About 70 percent of the fish biomass in the Illinois River, the doorway to Chicago and Great Lakes, is now made up of Asian carp. Invasive carp now populate waters from Louisiana to Minnesota.