Energy companies could soon have permission from the state Legislature to drill for oil and natural gas under Michigan’s portion of the Great Lakes.

The topic has led to bitter debate along partisan lines since the state Senate passed two bills on the subject, 20-13, in May - all in favor being Republicans and all opposed being Democrats.

The prospect of future Great Lakes drilling has caused some environmental groups and state leaders to call for an all-out ban on the practice.

“Some of the proponents of drilling say it’s safe,” said Cameron Davis, executive director of the Lake Michigan Federation. “That is true if the impact we are talking about is on the main body of water. But we are talking about some side effects that can add up and become a problem. They are simply not worth it.”

Opponents say potential slow leaks at either end of the pipes could cause long-term damage to the environment.

But supporters of the drill proposals say the lakes and their ecosystems would be in no harm - adding the Democrats are trying to mislead the public to gain popularity.

“Hogwash. Directional drilling protects the Great Lakes,” said state Sen. Ken Sikkema, R-Gaylord, who helped ban platform drilling on the lakes in the 1970s while he served as director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council.

“And new restrictions recently adopted by the Michigan Senate provide additional protection to our Great Lake shoreline.”

The drilling approved by the Senate would have to be “directional,” or performed on a slant from a drilling base located on land at least 1,500 feet from the shore, and oil wells would be prohibited from being constructed in flood-risk areas, sensitive environmental areas and critical sand dunes.

The proposal also calls for required environmental impact assessments to be completed before drilling permits would be issued and would allow new leases only where pipelines and roads already exist.

The bills are now being debated in a conference committee composed of members from both the state House and Senate - both bodies will again have to approve the measures before sending them to the governor.

Frank Mortl, president of the Michigan Oil and Gas Association, has said such drilling would provide badly needed energy for state residents.

Vice President Dick Cheney voiced his support for the drilling while he visited the state Monday.

“My basic instinct it that this would be a positive thing. We have a problem with depending too much on oil from foreign soil,” he said.

But not all Great Lakes states are eager to drill under the water. The Ohio Legislature is dealing with a bill to ban the practice on its part of Lake Erie and Republican majority leaders there say the bill is receiving bipartisan support.

Canada has drilled for natural gas under Lake Erie for more than 85 years and there are more than 2,200 wells under that lake.

But the long history and security checks by the Republican-sponsored bills aren’t enough to sway Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who is working to get his state to do the same thing as Ohio.

“The bottom line is that this will not affect the price people pay at the pumps and is not worth the risk to our Great Lakes,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.