Many people are against oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes because of environmental and safety concerns. (Photo courtesy of the USGS)
The recently passed Energy Bill contains an amendment that permanently bans
oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Celeste Headlee reports:
Transcript
The recently passed Energy Bill contains an amendment that permanently bans
oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Celeste Headlee reports:
Legislative committees spent days working out the differences between energy
bills passed separately by the House and the Senate.
In the final version of the bill, Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak proposed
an amendment to permanently ban drilling in and under the Great Lakes. A
vote in committee overwhelmingly supported Stupak’s amendment. The
representative says Congress finally affirmed that drilling in the Great
Lakes is not worth the risk to the environment or human safety.
“Since 1979 – when directional drilling began in Michigan – until 2004, the
amount of oil and gas drawn from the Great Lakes wells produced only enough
natural gas to fuel the United States for nine hours and only enough crude
oil to fuel the United States for a mere 35 minutes.”
The President is expected to sign the Bill into law when it reaches his
desk.
For the GLRC, I’m Celeste Headlee.