Federal appeals court halts New York, New Jersey gas pipeline project

(The Center Square) — A federal appeals court has halted a proposed natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York and New Jersey after ruling that it violates local water quality regulations.

In the ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Division sided with environmental groups by overturning a decision by the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection to approve a water quality certification for the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, which would run through sections of New Jersey to New York City to boost gas supplies for the northeast region.

Opponents of the pipeline filed a similar lawsuit against New York environmental regulators, who also approved the project.

Jackson Garrity, a senior attorney with the National Resources Defense Council — one of several green groups that sued to block the pipeline — called the ruling "a win for the waterways of New Jersey, the people who rely on them, and the rule of law."

"This pipeline would not only have destroyed wetlands across New Jersey, but also would tear up the seafloor of Raritan Bay," he said in a statement. "The DEP’s approval of the water quality permit failed to address key water quality concerns that the public has been raising for years. We took New Jersey to court to enforce the state’s water quality standards, and we won."

“We are reviewing the court's decision,” a spokesperson for the Williams Company, the energy company behind the massive project, said in a statement. “The Northeast Supply Enhancement project remains critical to strengthening energy reliability and meeting the region's growing energy demand.”

The NESE pipeline would run from shale-rich Lancaster County, Pa., through New Jersey to New York City. It calls for building nearly 24 miles of new pipeline, most of which would run under New York Harbor.

It was given a green light in New York by Gov. Kathy Hochul after the Democrat reportedly struck a deal with President Donald Trump in order to save an offshore wind project under construction off the coast of Long Island. Hochul has denied making a deal. But she defended her support for the pipeline project, saying it aims to bring down energy costs.

Despite those claims, a recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an independent research group, said the new infrastructure would cost utility customers roughly $200 million more annually over the next 15 years.

Environmental groups claim the pipeline would tear up the harbor floor, destroy marine habitats, and contaminate the water with mercury, copper, PCBs and other toxins. They said those concerns were cited by the regulatory board in its review of the project.

In 2020, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied the Oklahoma-based Williams Companies a permit to bury the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline. The company revived the project earlier this year after President Trump touted the need for more natural gas in the Northeast region.

Trump has signed executive orders and directed federal agencies to expand natural gas pipeline development by expediting permitting, while also taking actions to increase LNG exports. The move is aimed at bringing down costs for consumers and increasing the county's energy independence.

Industry groups have long argued that high energy costs in the Northeast are being driven in part by a lack of natural gas capacity. Under the Biden administration, several gas pipeline projects were blocked.

This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com.