MI HR0303

Urges inclusion of a ban on new oil and gas drilling beneath the Great Lakes in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which has coordinated U.S. and Canadian water quality protection efforts for nearly 40 years.

Cites the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as demonstration of catastrophic risks, noting a similar accident in the Great Lakes would devastate fishing, boating, and tourism industries worth billions of dollars and threaten drinking water for millions of people.

Asserts that risks to Great Lakes water quality outweigh economic benefits from oil and gas extraction, and that the lakes are too valuable to permit such activities.

Notes that the United States has already banned offshore and directional drilling in and under the Great Lakes, but Canada continues to allow offshore natural gas drilling and directional drilling for oil and gas beneath the lakes.

Directs copies of the resolution to be transmitted to the U.S. Secretary of State, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Michigan's congressional delegation.