State regulators have approved environmental permits needed for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, which will deliver natural gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to New York City via new pipelines beneath Raritan Bay and New York Harbor.
The Williams Company, the owner of the Transcontinental Pipeline Co. (TRANSCO), will drill piles into the bay floor with mechanical hammers and pistons to mount 23 miles of pipes underwater to deliver natural gas to power 2.3 million homes in New York City.
Although the project does not serve New Jersey utility customers, the state will benefit economically from the construction phase of the project, including direct and indirect job creation and an increase in state and local tax revenue, Williams said in a statement issued Friday after the permits were approved by New York and New Jersey regulators.
According to a fact sheet from Williams, the NESE project will deliver $1.8 billion in economic development to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and directly support 2,000 well-paying and stimulate thousands of additional jobs for Northeast communities.
“We’re proud to move NESE forward and do our part in providing New Yorkers access to clean, reliable and affordable natural gas,” Chad Zamarin, President and CEO of Williams said. “This project reflects our commitment to deliver clean and reliable energy, while lowering energy costs and supporting economic growth and environmental stewardship.”
Approval of the NESE permits comes amid soaring energy demands and increasing pressure from the Trump administration to promote the oil and gas industry. According to Williams, demand for natural gas has grown by 49% since 2013, but gas infrastructure has grown has lagged far behind, increasing by only 26%.
"We are pleased to see that the DEP has approved the permit for this much needed regional pipeline project,” NJBIA Deputy Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor said. “This project will allow more natural gas to flow into a region that desperately needs it."
Environmental groups, however, continue to oppose the project. A coalition of nonprofits, homeowners, and conservation groups recently sued over the project in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Oct. 30, after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reissued authorization for NESE.
“We are disappointed and stunned by the decisions from both New Jersey and New York to grant Williams Transco their permits,” NJ Sierra Club Conservation Program Manager Taylor McFarland said Friday.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation had previously denied permits for the project multiple times before Friday’s reversal, McFarland noted.
“We expected the NJDEP and NYDEC to do their job again, which is to protect the environment and public health, but that did not happen in this case,” McFarland said.
