Photo credit: Flickr User xritl

Legislation by Virginia Senators Warner and Webb to allow oil and natural gas exploration and production off of the Virginia coast is gaining public support.

The Warner-Webb legislation improves on a House-backed bill by providing royalties to Virginia if any energy resources are produced off our coastline. The Senate proposal also commits a portion of any revenues to land and water conservation efforts across the Commonwealth.

The Newport News Daily Press says now, “all the essential elements are falling into place for the state to find out just what resources it has off its coast.” And Norfolk’s Virginian Pilot calls the legislation “a responsible and reasonable first step” toward assuring that the Commonwealth is able to get a fair share of the revenues from offshore oil.

And in an online poll of Virginian Pilot readers, 74% supported the Warner/Webb approach to offshore energy.

You can see the results here.