II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1033

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to protect 1⁄5 of the

world’s fresh water supply by directing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study on the known and potential

environmental effects of oil and gas drilling on land beneath the water

in the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 13, 2001

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KOHL, Mr.

FEINGOLD, Mr. DAYTON, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. DURBIN, Mr.

CORZINE, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr. BAYH, and Mr. CHAFEE) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to protect

1⁄5 of the world’s fresh water supply by directing the

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

to conduct a study on the known and potential environmental effects of oil and gas drilling on land beneath

the water in the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Water

3 Protection Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

(1) the Great Lakes contain 1 6 ⁄5 of the world’s

7 fresh water supply;

8 (2) the Great Lakes basin is home to over

9 33,000,000 people and is a vital source of safe

10 drinking water for millions of people;

11 (3) the Great Lakes support many wetlands,

12 sand dunes, and other fragile coastal habitats;

13 (4) those coastal habitats are home to many en14 dangered and threatened wildlife and plant species,

15 including the piping plover, Pitcher’s thistle, and the

16 dwarf lake iris;

17 (5) the Great Lakes are crucial to the econo18 mies of the Great Lakes States for recreation, com19 mercial shipping, and industrial and agriculture

20 uses; and

21 (6) oil and gas development beneath the water

22 in any of the Great Lakes could—

23 (A) expose a valuable fresh water supply of

24 the United States to serious contamination; and

25 (B) cause serious environmental damage to

26 the water and shoreline of the Great Lakes.
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1 SEC. 3. EFFECTS OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ON THE

2 GREAT LAKES.

3 The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended

4 by inserting after section 108 (33 U.S.C. 1258) the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘SEC. 108A. EFFECTS OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ON

7 THE GREAT LAKES.

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 ‘‘(1) ACADEMY.—The term ‘Academy’ means

10 the National Academy of Sciences.

11 ‘‘(2) DRILLING ACTIVITY.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘drilling ac13 tivity’ means any drilling to extract oil or gas

14 from land beneath the water in any of the

15 Great Lakes.

16 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘drilling ac17 tivity’ includes—

18 ‘‘(i) directional drilling (also known as

19 ‘slant drilling’); and

20 ‘‘(ii) offshore drilling.

21 ‘‘(3) GREAT LAKE.—The term ‘Great Lake’

22 means—

23 ‘‘(A) Lake Erie;

24 ‘‘(B) Lake Huron (including Lake Saint

25 Clair);

26 ‘‘(C) Lake Michigan;
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1 ‘‘(D) Lake Ontario (including the Saint

2 Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the 45th

3 parallel of latitude); and

4 ‘‘(E) Lake Superior.

5 ‘‘(4) GREAT LAKES STATE.—The term ‘Great

6 Lakes State’ means each of the States of Illinois, In7 diana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Penn8 sylvania, and Wisconsin.

9 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVES TO PREVENT DRILLING ACTIV10 ITY.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive an

12 incentive grant under paragraph (2), a grant under

13 section 601(a), or a grant under section 1452 of the

14 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12), a

15 Great Lakes State shall not issue any oil or gas per16 mit or lease for drilling activity.

17 ‘‘(2) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year

19 or portion of a fiscal year in which paragraph

20 (1) is in effect, the Secretary of the Interior

21 shall make grants to Great Lakes States.

22 ‘‘(B) USE OF GRANTS.—A Great Lakes

23 State shall use a grant under this paragraph to

24 carry out conservation activities in the State,
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1 including activities to conserve parkland and

2 protect shores.

3 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—For each fis4 cal year or portion of a fiscal year, the amount

5 of a grant to a Great Lakes State under sub6 paragraph (A) shall be equal to the product ob7 tained by multiplying—

8 ‘‘(i) the amount available for grants

9 under this paragraph for the fiscal year or

10 portion of a fiscal year; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the ratio that—

12 ‘‘(I) the amount of funds that

13 the Great Lakes State would have re14 ceived, but for paragraph (1), from

15 the sale of oil and gas from the Great

16 Lakes during the fiscal year; bears to

17 ‘‘(II) the amount of funds that

18 all Great Lakes States would have re19 ceived, but for paragraph (1), from

20 the sale of oil and gas from the Great

21 Lakes during the fiscal year.

22 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—

23 For each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Inte24 rior may make grants under this paragraph in
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1 an aggregate amount not to exceed

2 $50,000,000.

3 ‘‘(c) STUDY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

5 the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis6 trator shall conduct a study to examine the known

7 and potential environmental effects of drilling activ8 ity, including any effects on—

9 ‘‘(A) water quality (including the quality of

10 drinking water);

11 ‘‘(B) the sediments and shorelines of the

12 Great Lakes;

13 ‘‘(C) fish and other aquatic species, plants,

14 and wildlife that are dependent on Great Lakes

15 resources;

16 ‘‘(D) competing uses of water and shore17 line areas of the Great Lakes; and

18 ‘‘(E) public health of local communities.

19 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In designing and con20 ducting the study, the Administrator shall consult

21 with—

22 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Energy;

23 ‘‘(B) the Administrator of the National

24 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

25 ‘‘(C) the Chief of Engineers;
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1 ‘‘(D) the Great Lakes States; and

2 ‘‘(E) as appropriate, representatives of en3 vironmental, industry, academic, scientific, pub4 lic health, and other relevant organizations.

5 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—Not later than

6 180 days after the date of enactment of this section,

7 the Administrator shall enter into an agreement with

8 the Academy under which the Administrator shall

9 submit to the Academy, and the Academy shall re10 view, the results of the study.

11 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the

12 date of submission to the Academy of the study

13 under paragraph (3), the Academy shall submit to

14 the Administrator and Congress—

15 ‘‘(A) the study; and

16 ‘‘(B) a report that describes the results of

17 the review by the Academy (including any rec18 ommendations concerning the results of the

19 study).

20 ‘‘(5) ACTION BY CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

21 Congress that, after receiving the study and report

22 under paragraph (4), Congress should—

23 ‘‘(A) review the study and report;

24 ‘‘(B) conduct hearings concerning the im25 pact of drilling activity; and
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1 ‘‘(C) determine whether to eliminate the

2 condition under subsection (b)(1).

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section.’’.

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