A U.S. House-Senate conference committee has approved legislation that includes a two-year moratorium on new oil and gas drilling in the Great Lakes in an effort to preserve safe drinking water supplies for the region.
None of the eight Great Lakes states currently permits drilling from oilrigs on the water, but Canada allows some drilling on its side of Lake Ontario.
The amendment also would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the potential dangers and environmental effects of extracting oil and gas from the Great Lakes. After the study is completed and Congress reviews its findings, lawmakers could extend the moratorium or choose to lift it in the event the analysis reveals oil and gas could be extracted from the Great Lakes without endangering the fresh water supplies or compromising the lakes' great importance to the regional and national economic well-being.
