Poll shows pipeline support
Published 11:42 am Thursday, October 20, 2016
- JORDAN MILES | HERALD A new poll shows a majority of Virginians support the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project being led by Dominion. According to Virginia Chamber of Commerce poll results released Wednesday, 55 percent of those polled support the project “while only 29 percent opposed, and 16 percent (were) unsure,” a press release indicated. The poll’s results, performed by The Tarrance Group, are based on 500 registered “likely” voters, gathered Oct. 12-15. The release indicated the margin of error with a sample of that type is +4.1 percent in 95 out of 100 caes. ACP LLC is seeking to construct a 600-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina. The 42-inch pipeline would span Buckingham County, and smaller portions of Cumberland and Prince Edward counties. ACP LLC is seeking approval of the project from federal regulators, along with a special use permit to build a 53,515 horsepower natural gas fired compressor station on Route 56 between Shelton Store and Union Hill roads. The permit request — along with the overall pipeline project — has drawn considerable opposition from Buckingham residents in protests and during public hearings. The county’s planning commission, which is considering the permit, concluded its public hearings on Monday; all but two of the 54 who signed up to speak during the hearings opposed the project and issuance of the permit. According to the poll results, “support intensity is nearly 2 to 1 as great as opposition, with 35 percent strongly supporting and 19 percent strongly opposed.” Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said the poll, “once again, confirms that the overwhelming majority of Virginians support the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.” “If this were an election, it would be a landslide,” Ruby said, noting that Virginians “understand that natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal and that this pipeline will help us improve our environment. Chad Oba, a spokeswoman for Friends of Buckingham, a group opposed to the project, said polls can, and often are, “designed to be manipulated to the advantage of whoever conducts and pays for the poll.”
A new poll shows a majority of Virginians support the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project being led by Dominion.
According to Virginia Chamber of Commerce poll results released Wednesday, 55 percent of those polled support the project “while only 29 percent opposed, and 16 percent (were) unsure,” a press release indicated.
The poll’s results, performed by The Tarrance Group, are based on 500 registered “likely” voters, gathered Oct. 12-15. The release indicated the margin of error with a sample of that type is +4.1 percent in 95 out of 100 caes.
ACP LLC is seeking to construct a 600-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina. The 42-inch pipeline would span Buckingham County, and smaller portions of Cumberland and Prince Edward counties. ACP LLC is seeking approval of the project from federal regulators, along with a special use permit to build a 53,515 horsepower natural gas fired compressor station on Route 56 between Shelton Store and Union Hill roads.
The permit request — along with the overall pipeline project — has drawn considerable opposition from Buckingham residents in protests and during public hearings.
The county’s planning commission, which is considering the permit, concluded its public hearings on Monday; all but two of the 54 who signed up to speak during the hearings opposed the project and issuance of the permit.
According to the poll results, “support intensity is nearly 2 to 1 as great as opposition, with 35 percent strongly supporting and 19 percent strongly opposed.”
Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said the poll, “once again, confirms that the overwhelming majority of Virginians support the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.”
“If this were an election, it would be a landslide,” Ruby said, noting that Virginians “understand that natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal and that this pipeline will help us improve our environment.
Chad Oba, a spokeswoman for Friends of Buckingham, a group opposed to the project, said polls can, and often are, “designed to be manipulated to the advantage of whoever conducts and pays for the poll.”
