Controversial $1B Gas Pipeline Gains NJ-NY Approvals for Construction

Despite revved-up opposition from opponents and environmental advocacy groups, energy developer Williams Cos. has secured key approvals from New York and New Jersey regulators to build the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project—a 37 mile natural gas pipeline extending from Pennsylvania through New Jersey into New York City, as well as a new compression station in Somerset County, N.J.  It would supply National Grid distribution utilities serving New York City and Long Island.

The project was canceled by Williams in 2024 after years of permit rejections from officials in the two states’ key environmental agencies. The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection both announced on Nov. 7 that they have approved resubmitted water quality certification applications for the project, as well as wetlands permits, flood permits and waterfront development permits for work to proceed on the 400,000-dekatherm-per-day project.

The states’ sign-off follows new project authorizations in August by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by the New York Public Service Commission in September, the latter citing long-running pipeline constraints in the region.

Williams has targeted construction start late next year and operation in the fourth quarter of 2027. A company spokesperson did not respond to multiple ENR queries related to contractor procurement and selection status.

“Following a comprehensive evaluation of this application, [NYSDEC] has determined that the project can comply with applicable water quality standards upon appropriate conditions,” the regulator said in a letter to Williams. The permit requires the pipe to be installed at a minimum depth of about 4 ft below the sea floor to help minimize suspended sediment.

The agency said in its permit notification the the developer that projects since 2020 have offered “new information” on how to “avoid and minimize” water-quality impacts of pipelines installed at four feet, projects in the past five years has provided “new information” related to water-quality impacts and how to “avoid and minimize” them at that level.

The decision follows discussions earlier this spring between President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) related to expanded energy infrastructure in the state to boost state reliability. The pipeline approval gained support from a long list of construction and other business groups but not from some state officials as well as newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In approving the project, the New York agency said it is imposing conditions, including oversight through independent third-party compliance monitors, and other steps to mitigate impacts, such as construction time-of-year windows to avoid sediment disturbance, and a dredge management plan to limit suspension of contaminants.

Williams Cos. CEO Chad Zamarin said the company is “proud to move NESE forward and do our part in providing New Yorkers access to clean, reliable and affordable natural gas.”

Second Longer Pipeline Pulls Back

The company noted that it has withdrawn its current water permit application for the previously proposed Constitution pipeline, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, to be constructed for 125 miles from Pennsylvania to upstate New York. But Williams Cos. now intends to resubmit it at a later, undisclosed date. New York had rejected the project’s water quality certification in 2020 and said it did not align to the 2019 state climate law that mandates a transition to renewable energy.

Despite this, Hochul said in a statement: “While I have expressed an openness to natural gas, I have also been crystal clear that all proposed projects must be reviewed impartially by the required agencies to determine compliance with state and federal law,”

The Northeast Supply Enhancement Project still faces legal challenges. A coalition of environmental groups, homeowners and nonprofits filed suit Oct. 30 in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., against the FERC reauthorization. Environmental groups have also sought a rehearing of the New York public service commission finding that concluded that the project is needed.

According to Mark Izeman, Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney for environmental health, New York’s approval of the pipeline water permit is a “complete reversal” of two previous state decisions to reject the project over impacts to New York water resources.

“The pipeline proposal is exactly the same, and state and federal law is the same, so there is no legal or scientific basis for taking a 180° turn from the state’s past denials,” he said in a statement, contending that if built, the project would cause severe damage to 23 miles of the New York-New Jersey Harbor floor, destroy marine habitats and dredge up toxins.

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