WASHINGTON, D.C. — Facing growing criticism that it is moving too slowly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced last week it will speed up its evaluation of how to address the Asian carp invasion.

The Corps previously indicated it may need through 2015 to finish the extensive study and recommend one main way to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes – a schedule challenged by several lawmakers and five Great Lakes states. Last week the Corps said it would speed up the process and offer options for Congress to consider before the end of next year.

Critics said faster action is needed because the Asian silver and bighead carp have infested the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois rivers. They are huge plankton eaters, breed quickly and gobble up food needed by native river species, and in recent years they have been bearing down on the Great Lakes.

President Barack Obama’s point man on Asian carp, John Goss, said the offering of options sooner could mean quicker action to try to stop the fish.

“This new step will result in a more focused path forward that could mean faster implementation of a permanent solution for protecting our Great Lakes from Asian carp,” said Goss, program director for the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Five states – Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania – have a pending lawsuit calling on the Corps to complete its main study earlier than 2015, and pending legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dave Camp (D-Mich.) call on completion within 18 months after the bill passes.

Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Corps’ civil works, said the new timetable will give Congress an earlier start to decide on what method to pursue and how to pay for it – something federal officials say likely will be in the billions of dollars.

“The Army Corps of Engineers understands and appreciates the importance of continuing with (the study) and preventing aquatic invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes,” Darcy said.

The Obama administration has spent more than $150 million on short-term Great Lakes protection measures – with another $300 million budgeted for next year – that includes tracking and removing Asian carp in the Chicago waterways and reinforcing an electric barrier.

The Corps’ list of alternatives for a permanent fix will deal with the Chicago waterways and 18 other locations across the region, that an earlier study identified as offering possible pathways for the carp between the Great Lakes and Mississippi basins, Darcy explained.