MI SCR0048

Urge inclusion of a ban on new oil and gas drilling beneath the Great Lakes in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Call for a study and assessment of the impact and risk from existing drilling operations on the Great Lakes.

Note that the United States has already banned offshore and directional drilling in the Great Lakes, but Canada has not, with over 500 natural gas wells currently operating on Lake Erie bottomlands under Canadian jurisdiction.

Cite the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as demonstrating the potential for catastrophic consequences to water quality, fishing, boating, and tourism industries that depend on the Great Lakes.

Direct transmission of the resolution to the U.S. Secretary of State, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Council of Great Lakes Governors, and Michigan's congressional delegation.