Stupak Calls for Great Lakes Drilling Ban United States Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) (Photo courtesy Stupak staff) WASHINGTON ’Äì Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) fronting a bi-partisan group of legislators, has issued a call to prohibit oil exploration under the Great Lakes. He recently introduced H.R. 1032, which if passed into law, would permanently ban a technique known as directional or ’Äúslant’Äù drilling from shore stations under the Great Lakes. This method would enable resource extractors to tap into oil or gas reserves by drilling at an angle from shore. The move by Stupak was a response to the Engler Administration’Äôs recent lift of a moratorium on leasing lands for this purpose.   Recognizing that both the public health and risks to the environment are at stake, non-profit organizations such as the Lake Michigan Federation and the Michigan Land Use Institute have joined Stupak in supporting a permanent ban on drilling for oil and gas under the Great Lakes. In response to Stupak’Äôs efforts in Congress, legislation in both the Michigan House and Senate was introduced.  Representative Julie Dennis (D-Muskegon) and Senator Gary Peters  (D-Bloomfield Twp) introduced separate bills that have garnered bi-partisan support at the state level.   ’ÄúI am pleased my colleagues joined me in bringing this important issue before the public,’Äù Stupak said. ’ÄúIt is the public, the 35 million residents of the Great Lakes basin, and not special interests like the petroleum industry, who must have the final say in the future health of the Great Lakes.’Äù   In letters to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Russell Harding  and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director K. L. Kool, Stupak requested an explanation as to why slant drilling safety standards developed in 1997 with the state’Äôs blessing have not been fully implemented. Stupak reminded Harding that he had praised the work of the Michigan Environmental Science Board (MESB), an independent autonomous agency created by Governor Engler and charged with advising the Administration on matters that affect the protection and management of Michigan’Äôs environment and natural resources. At the time, the MESB made seven specific recommendations regarding slant drilling under the Great Lakes.   Stupak said in his letter that in response to the MESB report, Harding had commended the science board for its work and had said he would take immediate steps to address the issues outlined in their report. Stupak noted only two of the seven recommendations have been implemented in more than three years.   ’ÄúIt now appears that the MESB’Äôs recommendations are being ignored,’Äù Stupak said.   Stupak also noted that the MESB had recommended that no new infrastructure ’Äìpipelines, transmission lines or roads ’Äì be built to support expanded drilling. By contrast, the MDEQ has issued guidelines that allow for the development of new infrastructure.  The MESB recommended that areas on both Lakes Michigan and Huron be evaluated to identify sites already impacted with oil and gas development where leases could not be issued for future development and areas where directional drilling development leases could be allowed, provided such development would cause only minimal environmental or shoreline impacts. Further, the MESB recommended that all future development plans should include the input of local residents, elected officials, property owners and conservation organizations. Stupak indicated no inventory of these previously impacted areas has been done.   ’ÄúApparently, the only public involvement planned regarding additional well construction is a 30-day public notice of any bottomland leasing and ’Ķ comment at public meetings,’Äù Stupak said. ’ÄúLastly, the issue of sealability of drilling sites has also not been broached. I believe it is important to understand the sealability of the geological structures in potential directional drilling sites in order to prevent unintentional seepage of oil.’Äù   Ms. Lynn Boyd, Manager for Mineral Leasing at the MDNR, responded to Stupak’Äôs letter expressing her belief that the state has indeed implemented the recommendations of the MESB and is concerned that Stupak’Äôs views on the issue are not factual. A coordinated response from the MDEQ and the MDNR is due by April 16.   In a third letter, Stupak wrote to his former Michigan legislative colleague Spencer Abraham, now United States Secretary of Energy, to express his concerns regarding oil and gas exploration under the Great Lakes. In the letter, Stupak asked Abraham to respond to the following nine questions, which he had originally prepared for Abraham’Äôs cabinet confirmation hearings:   You have indicated your support for decreasing dependence on foreign energy supplies and in turn support oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  If you don’Äôt perceive drilling for oil in ANWR to be an environmental risk, can you categorically discount other areas as too ecologically sensitive for such exploration?    Last year, the Wichita, Kansas-based oil company paid a $4.5 million penalty for leaking oil into lakes and streams in six states and violating the Clean Water Act.  How will you ensure that such a company does not cause similar damage in the Great Lakes?   Coastal Corporation and Peoples Energy Corporation plan to build a 130-mile natural gas pipeline under Lake Michigan between Indiana and Milwaukee.  While their permit to FERC has not been filed nor approved, there is concern that the pipeline could later be used to transport oil. What is your position on this proposed project? Do you oppose oil being transported through this pipeline?    U.S. Federal law prohibits offshore drilling beneath the Great Lakes. Also, during an October 22 campaign debate in Detroit, you said that you wouldn’Äôt support Great Lakes drilling (Detroit Free Press, 10/23/00). Does your position hold true for onshore slant drilling that reaches under the Great Lakes? Can you anticipate any circumstances that may force you to change this position?   Legislation has just been introduced to prohibit oil and gas drilling (including slant drilling) beneath the Great Lakes in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1032). This bill garnered the support of 19 House members. Would you support such legislation?    During a September 26, 2000, visit to Traverse City, Michigan, Vice-President-elect Dick Cheney said he did not know whether it would be advisable to expand land-based drilling under the Great Lakes. Cheney said, however, that technological improvements were making it easier to drill in sensitive areas without damaging the environment (Traverse City Record Eagle, 10/27/00). Do you consider the Great Lakes a sensitive area that could be drilled without damage?    Currently, there are 13 oil and gas wells on Michigan shorelines and the state is moving forward to approve new drilling leases (MDEQ). Do you support new onshore slant drilling leases beneath the Great Lakes?    Canada allows offshore drilling beneath the Great Lakes. As Secretary of Energy, what will you do to prevent this practice from expanding ’Äì or outright stop it ’Äì in our shared resource, the Great Lakes?   The history of gas and oil exploration beneath the Great Lakes has been wrought with accidents. In 1997, 11 people were hospitalized after the release of hydrogen sulfide from a natural gas well in Manistee, Michigan. And in 1998, a well leak in Manistee hospitalized nine people, including two paramedics, for nausea, headaches and respiratory irritation. Does this history and the fact that the Great Lakes Basin is home to 34 million people discourage you from labeling the Great Lakes as a sensitive area where drilling can be safely conducted? Stupak requested that for the public record Secretary Abraham respond in writing. To date, Abraham has not responded, according to Stupak staff member and spokesman Bob Meissner.    Click here for background information on Great Lakes drilling from the Michigan Land Use Institute ...                                                                                       ’Äì Fred Young                                                                      April 5, 2001   Editor's Note: Guest writer Fred Young is a doctoral candidate in the Humanities Department at Michigan Technological University.