The Fayetteville Observer

Now that federal regulators have given approval for construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to resume, expect the usual, hysterical claims from anti-development activists to resurface. Don’t buy it. Resuming construction is the right thing to do.

We know about the project’s economic benefits — the jobs it’ll create, the tax revenue it’ll provide. But overlooked is how pipelines lower household energy expenses. North Carolinians spend nearly $3,000 annually on energy. For those in poverty, that’s at least 25 percent of their take-home income. Such expenses often stifle economic development in communities and drives residents further into poverty.

Pipelines reduce these burdens by transporting more resources and alleviating bottlenecks that result when demand climbs. This project, for instance, will provide about $377 million in energy cost savings.

Demand for cleaner-burning natural gas, to power and heat homes cost-effectively, is also surging. One way or the other, whether by pipeline, rail or truck, the energy we need must be transported. Best to go with the safest method — pipelines, which are 4.5 times safer than the alternatives.

This was no rushed decision. The pipeline route, after three years of review and input from federal, state and local governments, has been changed more than 300 times based on public input to lessen its impact on environmental and cultural sites and endangered species.

Enough stonewalling. This project, and its benefits, have been delayed long enough.

Tim Page, state director, Consumer Energy Alliance, Connally Springs

Read the full article and more in The Fayetteville Observer.