People Win Victory
as Drilling Ban Becomes Law
|
For
Immediate Release:
April 05, 2002
|
Contact:
Brian Imus, PIRGIM (734) 662 6597
or Brad Garmon, MEC (517) 487-9539
|
While
celebrating the permanent protection of a priceless resource,
environmental and public interest groups were disappointed
today to hear the Governor belittle the important state mandate
by characterizing the people of Michigan as "misled"
in demanding protection for the Great Lakes.
Governor
Engler announced he would neither sign nor veto a bill passed
overwhelmingly by the legislature that bans drilling underneath
the Great Lakes, allowing the bill to become law today. The
passage of the bill ends a long battle by the Michigan Oil
and Gas Association and Governor Engler to expand drilling
underneath the Great Lakes.
"The Governor would rather support the oil and gas industry
than acknowledge the research that shows the potential benefits
from drilling do not outweigh the harmful environmental and
public health impacts. The state legislature should be commended
for acting on the science and was right to take action on
the overwhelming sentiment held by Michigan voters that drilling
is an unacceptable risk" stated Brian Imus, Campaign
Director for the non-profit group PIRGIM. "This is a
victory for the people of Michigan, who have made it clear
from the beginning that the Great Lakes are a resource they
simply don't want trifled with," said Brad Garmon, of
the Michigan Environmental Council. "It's a refreshing
and hopeful example of government working for the people,
and shouldn't be underestimated. The public made its priorities
clear and kept after the state government to make sure their
mandate was heard and action taken."
PIRGIM research conducted over the last year provides strong
evidence that drilling is a risk not worth taking. Toxic chemicals
used in the drilling process damage the unique ecosystem found
along the Great Lakes shoreline and pose a threat to public
health. During the course of directional drilling, oil, water
or synthetic oil is combined with other chemicals to form
a toxic drilling mixture that is circulated through the well
hole. These mixtures frequently contain toxic materials such
as oil and grease, suspended solids, phenol, arsenic, chromium,
cadmium, lead, mercury, naturally occurring radioactive materials,
and barium. The potential benefits to be had from drilling
do not outweigh the harmful environmental and public health
impacts.
While there is no reliable estimate on oil and natural gas
deposits accessible from Michigan's shoreline, consider the
current result of Michigan drilling. In the last 22 years,
from 1979 through 2000, directional drilling under Michigan's
Great Lakes produced 439,000 barrels of oil and 17.9 billion
cubic feet of natural gas. That amount of energy is enough
to supply Michigan with oil for 18.5 hours and gas for 7.1
days, at 1999 rates of consumption.[5] This is simply not
worth the risk to the Great Lakes.
For more information on the economic, public health and environmental
impacts associated with drilling, please visit www.pirgim.org
to access the report Dirty Drilling: The Threat of Oil and
Gas Drilling in Michigan's Great Lakes
