Home    News    November

News from the Keweenaw Peninsula November 1, 2001 Text © 2001 Michele Anderson

U.S. House bill to ban Great Lakes drilling for two years

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, Nov. 1, the United States House of Representatives is expected to approve a fiscal year 2002 appropriations bill that includes language agreed upon by the House and Senate to ban drilling for gas and oil under the Great Lakes for two years, while the Army Corps of Engineers studies the environmental impact of such drilling.

The ban, included in the Energy and Water Development bill, prohibits both drilling directly into the Great Lakes and directional drilling under the lakes from a site on the shore. It specifically targets the state of Michigan, which is actively moving to grant leases for directional drilling.

"This vote is personally satisfying," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who has led a public fight to block Michigan's renewal of directional drilling since 1997. "This bill is a victory for all the people of the Great Lakes, and it proves that sometimes it can take five years of hard work to build a bipartisan consensus for legislation."

Stupak introduced legislation in the 105th, 106th and early in the 107th Congress calling for an outright ban on directional drilling; but he picked up additional co-sponsors with a new proposal in June, which banned the procedure until the Environmental Protection Agency could complete a study on the impact of drilling. The study would then be reviewed by the National Academy of Sciences and the findings presented to Congress.

"The governor of Michigan appointed the Michigan Environmental Science Board to study the safety of directional drilling, and then he chose to disregard key recommendations made by the board," Stupak noted. "This two-year ban will give us independent input on the safety of directional drilling, and it will give the state of Michigan ample time to bring its public policy on directional drilling in line with the wishes of Great Lakes residents, who have loudly and clearly stated their opposition to the procedure."

The Senate companion to Stupak's bill was introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who as a House member had been an original co-sponsor of Stupak's earlier bills.

The bill faces almost certain passage in the Senate and faces no presidential veto threat.

For background information on the Great Lakes drilling issue check out the
Michigan Land Use Institute Web site.