To the editor:

I would like to voice my support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and also to thank Gov. Terry McAuliffe for continuing to stand in support of the project. As many do, I see this as bipartisan issue.

Opposition groups are arguing this pipeline is unnecessary, a belief that could not be further from the truth.

Tell that to the industrial users that only two years ago were forced to limit their energy consumption in order to ensure residential customers could continue heating their homes during the polar vortex.

Tell that to the companies that have expressed interest in locating in Hampton Roads, only to go elsewhere due to the inability to provide them with the energy necessary to conduct business.

Tell that to the entire Hampton Roads region, which has been hit hard by the recent sequester and is still struggling to regain economic footing.

This is energy we need now to ensure Hampton Roads can support and expand upon the second-largest population center in the state. The large supply of natural gas the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide to our region will benefit our region and all residents up and down the east coast of Virginia.

Governor McAuliffe has been clear since his inauguration that Virginia’s economy must diversify in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will allow Virginia and Hampton Roads to do just that.

Thomas Turner

Suffolk