Public Resource
Poll: Voters Strongly Support Key Policies That Would Deter Oil and Gas Companies From Illegally Polluting
Tenneth Fairclough II, Catherine Fraser, and Grace Adcox. Data for Progress
Voters overwhelmingly want stronger accountability for polluters, including compensation for damages to the environment and local communities. Most disapprove of the court decision to block an investigation of environmental injustices in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”. There is overwhelming majority support (76%+) among voters nationwide for each of the following measures to hold polluters accountable at the state level: Mandating automatic inspections of oil and gas facilities after an intentional emissions leakage is identified (87% support); Enforcing increasingly higher fines on oil and gas companies that operate facilities that frequently break local pollution rules (86%); Requiring oil and gas companies to compensate for the damage they may have caused to the environment or local communities (85%); Improving pollution monitoring at fence lines of facilities to better identify plants that are illegally polluting (84%); Prosecuting managers of facilities that have been repeat offenders of illegal polluting (79%); Permanently shutting down facilities that have been repeat offenders of illegal polluting and revoking their permits to operate in the state (76%).