The Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) undersea pipeline Project was officially declared dead out of the water on Tuesday, May 9, 2024. This horrendous 23-mile gas pipeline proposal for Raritan Bay and Lower New York Bay would have significantly harmed the recovering aquatic community there and caused innumerable other environmental ills.
The Williams Companies (aka, Williams Transco) announced it would not seek renewal of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certificate for consideration of the project. This ended eight years of grassroots opposition to the pipeline from the Sierra Club, numerous other environmental groups, innumerable towns along the Raritan Bay shoreline and elsewhere in New Jersey, and countless thousands of public citizens who spoke up against this ill-conceived plan to prolong and extend fossil fuel reliance.
Williams sought to construct the pipeline extension from Middlesex and Somerset counties and across Raritan Bay to Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, where New York is attempting to switch to natural gas from heavy dependence on heating oil.
The pipeline would have sourced gas from the Marcellus Shale fracking region of northern Pennsylvania, cutting directly across the Staten Island clam beds and, in the process, dredging up an industrial legacy of many tons of copper and lead–containing sediments, which are known to be extremely harmful to aquatic life.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation previously denied water quality certification to Williams, citing these concerns. New York also determined that existing infrastructure in the New York metropolitan region could handle energy needs equally well.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) also denied numerous water quality, wetlands, flooding, and waterfront development permits for this project. This followed numerous failures by Williams to demonstrate that its pipeline extension would meet basic standards. The DEP said no compelling need was demonstrated for the project.
“Williams’ decision not to renew its FERC extension is a monumental victory for the people who have been fighting this disastrous fossil fuel project,” said Sierra Club NJ Chapter Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot. “While we are celebrating now, we will remain vigilant. We will continue to fight to protect our land, air, and water from any fossil fuel project in New Jersey.”
The victory was tinged with some disappointment, as almost simultaneously Delaware River Partners and Bradford County Real Estate Partners said they would push forward with construction of a Wyalusing, Pa., gas liquefaction plant. Last September, the partnership was denied a permit for shipping the gas via rail from the proposed plant to Gibbstown, NJ, where it would have been exported. The partnership now says it aims to truck the gas to New Jersey.
The Sierra Club strongly opposes the extension of fossil fuel markets and infrastructure due to the pollution this represents and the climate change crisis.
“The last thing we need is even more dangerous methane gas extracted from Pennsylvania, shipped through our communities by truck, and exported overseas—all while residents face worsening illnesses, higher healthcare costs, and increased energy bills caused by gas exports. This decision is unnecessary and reckless, and the Sierra Club is prepared to continue fighting this project until it is officially canceled,” said Patrick Grenter, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign director.