Mike Levin: “the recent debate shows the challenges our country faces in balancing environmental protection with our Nation's energy…”

“the recent debate shows the challenges our country faces in balancing environmental protection with our Nation's energy security. Containing nearly 95 percent of our countries surface fresh water, the Great Lakes are a natural treasure which we must work to protect. Today I offered an amendment which would request that the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with representatives of the appropriate Federal and State agencies and the National Academy of Science, conduct a study of the transmission of natural gas and electricity across the Great Lakes and report back to Congress within 365 days regarding the impacts of such lines and recommendations for minimizing their environmental impact. As the cleanest fossil fuel, natural gas will play an increasingly important role in addressing our nations energy demands. Even today, natural gas consumption is forecasted to increase at over 2 percent per year. However, the infrastructure for transporting natural gas is already strained. To address this problem, a number of companies have applied for permits to place pipelines and electric transmission lines across the Great Lakes.”