Natural Gas Efforts Got Political Push

RALEIGH — In 1998 voters approved, by a 51 percent to 49 percent ratio, $200 million in bonds to extend natural-gas pipelines to 22 unserved counties in the state. However, the weight of State Senate leader Marc Basnight’s influence apparently enabled political allies in eastern North Carolina to manage $188.3 million of the available funds. None of the money is likely to be paid back because the bond legislation doesn’t require it, and because the pipeline project isn’t expected to be economically feasible for decades, if ever.