The Rocky Mount Telegram

There have been questions about how this pipeline will positively impact Eastern North Carolina. Will it really bring jobs? Will it really lead to economic development opportunities, specifically manufacturing? It is really the opportunity of our time for our communities, for Eastern North Carolina, and for our entire state?

"Yes," says Thomas Betts of the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce, "I am confident that it will bring all these benefits and more."

From the article:

"It is well known and acknowledged that manufacturers are looking for natural gas as a top criterion for selecting a site. In fact, Eastern North Carolina has been eliminated (or completely passed over) from companies' consideration sets because of the lack of access to natural gas.

Opponents ask: Why not transport the natural gas from Western North Carolina's Transcontinental Pipeline (the only source of natural gas in the state)? The fact of the matter is, not only is Transco nearly fully tapped, but it would cost an exorbitant amount of money to transport additional natural gas from the western to the eastern part of the state. Plus, we would continue to place all of our energy eggs in one basket, which is not smart for reliability reasons.

The bottom line is, Eastern North Carolina needs the ACP. The clean, reliable, competitively priced natural gas it will provide will help us attract more business, create thousands of jobs and increase tax revenues — which means creating opportunities to keep our friends and families at home instead of leaving because of the lack of jobs. The ACP is critical to support our growing state and economy, specifically to meet the growing energy needs and serve new major industrial customers in Eastern North Carolina.

I'm especially excited about the jobs the ACP will create, both directly and indirectly. The construction of the pipeline will support more than 4,400 jobs. Yes, these specific jobs are temporary. But all construction jobs are temporary. Have you ever heard of a 30-year-long construction job on the same project? A career in construction, by design, is made up of dozens of different projects. When one is complete, you move on to the next. I would rather see thousands of North Carolinians employed for multiple years than none at all."

Read the full article and more in The Rocky Mount Telegram