A group of environmental, energy and water safety nonprofits have sued New York and New Jersey over their recent permits for the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline project that reversed multiple prior denials by state environmental authorities.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, both of which approved the project Nov. 7, were sued Nov. 18. (See Permits for Trump-Favored Gas Pipeline Approved by N.Y. and N.J.)
“DEC’s approval is a 180-degree reversal; in 2020 it denied the exact same application,” Susan Kraham, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s northeast region, said in a press release. “The project hasn’t changed; the impacts haven’t changed; the only thing that has changed is DEC’s decision, which it reversed with no reasonable explanation,”
The NESE project would expand the capacity of Williams Cos.’ existing Transco Pipeline, including building 23 miles of new pipe along sections in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York City. The majority of that is designed to go underwater through Raritan Bay to New York Harbor. The plaintiffs say that constructing the pipeline and associated compressor station would violate state air and water quality standards, release mercury and chemicals into the water, and destroy local shellfish habitat.
“The Sierra Club was shocked and disappointed to see New Jersey and New York move ahead with Williams Transco’s dirty and harmful NESE project,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter, said in a press release. “We will not stop fighting this project.”
President Donald Trump moved to stop construction on Empire Wind 1 but reversed course after claiming to reach a deal with Gov. Kathy Hochul in May. The White House claimed Hochul “caved” on natural gas, while the governor’s office denied any deal was reached. (See BOEM Lifts Stop-work Order on Empire Wind.)
The plaintiffs include NY/NJ Baykeeper, Protectors of Pine Woods, Food and Water Watch, the New Jersey Safe Energy Coalition, the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club and a group representing local homeowners. They are represented by the Eastern Environmental Law Center, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
