Despite intense opposition from opponents and environmental 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 stretching from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to New York City, as well as a new compressor station in Somerset County, New York City, and New York City utilities.
The project was canceled in 2024 after years of permit denials by officials from key environmental agencies in both states. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced on November 7 that they have approved key water quality certifications for the project, as well as wetland permits, flood permits and waterfront development permits to work with the 400,000 Dekatherm per day project.
The states’ approval follows the project’s authorization in August by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New York State Public Service Commission in September, citing long-standing pipeline constraints in the region.
Williams is targeting construction to begin late next year and operation in the fourth quarter of 2027. A Williams spokesman did not respond to an ENR inquiry regarding the hiring and selection of contractors.
“After a thorough evaluation of this application, NYSDEC has determined that the project can meet applicable water quality standards under appropriate conditions,” the New York regulator said in a letter to Williams. The permit requires the pipeline to be installed at a minimum depth of about 4 feet below the sea floor to help minimize suspended sediment.
The decision follows discussions earlier this spring between President Donald Trump and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul related to expanding energy infrastructure.
In approving the project, the New York agency said it is imposing conditions, including oversight by independent third-party compliance monitors, and other steps to mitigate impacts, such as time-of-year construction windows to avoid sediment disturbance and a dredging management plan to limit suspended pollutants.
Williams Co. CEO Chad Zamarin said the company is “proud to advance NESE and do our part to provide New Yorkers with access to clean, reliable and affordable natural gas.”
The company noted, however, that while it has withdrawn its current water permit application for the previously proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York state, the company now intends to resubmit it. The state had rejected its water quality certification in 2020.
But the Northeast Supply Improvement Project continues to face legal challenges. A coalition of environmental groups, property owners and nonprofits filed a lawsuit Oct. 30 in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, challenging FERC’s reauthorization. Environmental groups have also called for a rehearing of the New York Public Service Commission’s finding that the project is necessary.
According to Mark Izeman, a senior environmental health attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, New York’s approval of the pipeline’s water permit is a “complete reversal” of two previous state decisions to reject the project because of threats to New York’s water resources.
“The pipeline proposal is exactly the same, and state and federal law are the same, so there is no legal or scientific basis for doing a 180° U-turn from the state’s previous denials,” he said in a statement, saying that if built, the project would cause serious damage to 23 miles of the New York-New Jersey Harbor floor, destroy marine habitats and dredge toxins.
