LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Environmental groups say Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra is changing his position on Great Lakes drilling.
Although the former Holland congressman voted in 2005 for a federal ban on Great Lakes drilling, he said during a recent campaign appearance that he'd support drilling under the lakes from shore.
Campaign spokesman Paul Ciaramitaro said Monday that Hoekstra thinks deep horizontal drilling from shore holds "great potential for development," but it's something states would have to decide.
Michigan banned drilling under the Great Lakes from shore in 2002.
Rita Chapman of the Michigan Sierra Club says opening the door for any type of Great Lakes drilling is "unacceptable."
Hoekstra hopes to run against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who authored the 2001 federal ban on Great Lakes drilling.
