Approval or opposition to a pipeline is decided by a variety of factors. One that needs to be addressed is the influence of proximity to a respondent’s “home” or community. Survey responses indicate that the relative location has an impact on support for pipelines with people showing stronger opposition when proposed pipelines are in their backyards.

 

In collecting data for this survey, all respondents were physically located in Nelson or Augusta Counties in Virginia at the time of the survey. Therefore, Nelson and Augusta Counties represent the “home” location. It is notable that pipeline opposition decreases with distance; there is reason to speculate there is a NIMBY ("not in my backyard") effect on pipeline support.