A survey paid for by backers of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on Coos Bay’s North Spit suggests a majority of area residents favor the project.

Jordan Cove Energy Project and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline hired Moore Information of Portland to conduct the survey, which has a potential margin of error of 5 percent.

Pollsters got responses from 400 residents in Coos, Douglas, Jackson and Klamath counties.

They determined 56 percent favor the LNG terminal and 16 percent oppose it. The rest were undecided. They found slightly less support for the pipeline that would cross the four counties, with 54 percent in favor and 16 percent opposed.

Supporters most often said they favor the project because of the potential for new jobs and an additional source of energy. Opponents said they are concerned about safety risks and the possibility of environmental damage.

Jordan Cove Project Manager Bob Braddock believes the survey’s results confirm what he has always contended, that the community supports the project.

“We had beliefs about public perception and we wanted to confirm that,” he said. “At least now there is some information that says there are a bunch of folks out there” that support the project.

The survey also confirmed the area’s distaste for eminent domain. Sixty-five percent of respondents oppose the practice, while only 26 percent condone it.

Pollsters asked 20 questions (See details, Page A8), ranging from whether people had heard about the projects to whether they thought landowners would be equitably compensated to have a section of the 230-mile pipeline cross their property.

Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector came up with the survey idea in August, Braddock said. Moore Information had people make calls on Oct. 21-22, contacting an equal number of people in each county. The phone numbers were from a purchased voter list and numbers randomly selected.

The questions were generated by Moore Information after talking with Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector representatives.

Bob Moore, president of the polling company, said callers used probability sampling to select the 400 respondents.

“The ideal is it is representative of the voting population,” he said.

The respondents included 44 percent Republicans, 35 percent Democrats and 22 with some other party affiliation. Fifty-four percent were women, nearly everyone was a high school graduate, and 65 had some form of college or trade school.

Jody McCaffree, leader of the local Citizens Against LNG, said she thought the sample size was small, though even if it was accurate, she thought the most telling thing was that 37 percent of people hadn’t heard about the LNG terminal project and 46 percent about the pipeline.

“I think people are busy living their lives and not paying attention,” she said. “If they understood the whole concept, they’d probably change their minds.”

Opposition was strongest in Coos County, with 23 percent against both the terminal and pipeline. Opposition to the terminal dropped to 16 in Jackson County, 15 in Douglas County and 9 in Klamath County.

Jackson County residents appeared more concerned about the pipeline, as 22 percent said they were against it, while only 13 percent objected in Douglas County and 7 percent in Klamath.

Support for the terminal was strongest in Douglas County, with 62 percent, followed by Klamath, 59, Coos, 57, and Jackson, 46.

When pollsters switched topics from the terminal to the pipeline only Douglas County saw a noticeable drop in support, down to 55 percent.

Moore Information performs surveys for political campaigns, private companies and government entities. Some of its clients include Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., Trust for Public Land, Weyerhaeuser Co., and Southwestern Oregon Community College.