US Senator Debbie Stabenow is raising concerns about the possibility of oil drilling in the Great Lakes.
President Trump announced the end of an Obama Era policy in June, aimed at protecting major US Bodies of water.
Because of language in the President's Executive Order, Stabenow said she became concerned that this could open the Great Lakes up to drilling.
“That would be illegal to move forward with that. The president can’t overturn the law, as much as he may want to, he can’t.”
Stabenow said after reading the President's Executive Order she sent a letter to his office reminding him of a 2005 law banning drilling in the Great Lakes.
She called the Executive Order a quote “attack on our Michigan way of life.”
Previous legislation from Stabenow banning personal care products that include microbeads took effect on July 1st.
Microbeads are small plastic particles that can get through treatment facilities and harm fish and other wildlife.
Stabenow said the microbeads were used in a number of personal care products.
“These beads have really wreaked havoc with our fish population and the little beads get swallowed the fish and create pollution in our waters.”
The law was passed in 2015, but slowly phased out the use of microplastics, giving manufacturing companies the time to catch up with the new law.
Stabenow said protecting the Great Lakes from pollution is essential to protecting Michigan’s economy.