Environmentalists sue NY, NJ regulators over Transco Northeast gas pipe permits

A coalition of environmental groups is suing a New York regulator after the department granted a key permit to a fiercely contested interstate natural gas pipeline project into New York City.

The groups on Nov. 18 petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to review the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) recent decision to grant a water quality certificate to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project.

The groups do not anticipate filing a brief until February 2026, but their arguments will reflect their Aug. 15 public comments on Transco's application, an Earthjustice spokesperson told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

The groups previously argued that Transco's latest application is "virtually identical" to two previous applications, which DEC denied in 2019 and 2020. In both of those decisions, the DEC concluded that Transco, a Williams subsidiary, had failed to demonstrate that the NESE project would comply with the state's water quality standards. It also found that the project, which would run through the Lower New York Bay, would have adverse impacts on water quality.

"There's nothing different in the substance of this application that shows that this project is any more likely to comply with the water quality standards than it was the last time around," Susan Kraham, managing attorney for Earthjustice's Northeast Region, said in a Nov. 18 news 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," Kraham said.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's water quality certification for the NESE project is also facing legal challenges. A coalition of nonprofits and the Natural Resources Defense Council, similarly, filed petitions in the 2nd Circuit over the state's new certification that the project would meet standards.

"New Jersey's approval completely disregards its prior, sound decision to reject this pipeline over threats to the state's water quality," NRDC Managing Litigator Jared Knicley said in a statement. The DEP denied the approval in 2019 and 2020.

Project advances swiftly after revival

The NESE project would be capable of delivering 400,000 Dth/d of gas through about 37 miles of new pipe, connecting Pennsylvania infrastructure to downstate New York through New Jersey. Transco would build a new compression station in Somerset County, New Jersey, and the pipeline would additionally pass through the Raritan Bay.

Williams shelved the project in 2020 but revived it this year, citing President Donald Trump's executive orders to expedite energy infrastructure, particularly in the Northeast.

The New York DEC approved NESE's water quality certificate application under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act on Nov. 7. The decision came several weeks after the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) concluded that the project was necessary to address downstate gas supply concerns, particularly in National Grid USA's Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island service territories.

DEC cites changes since 2020

The DEC told Platts that it does not comment on pending litigation. In a Nov. 7 news release, the department said its latest review of Transco's application reflected the US Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 rulemaking and guidance in response to a Supreme Court interpretation of the Clean Water Act.

The department additionally considered "substantive revisions to ecological considerations," including a correction to the density of hard clams in the Raritan Bay, which influenced its 2020 decision.

The environmentalists said the review was not adequate.

"If built, the NESE pipeline would still pose a direct threat to fishing and shellfishing, marine habitats, and recreational uses throughout the Harbor," Knicley said in the Nov. 18 joint news release.

In-house attorneys are representing NRDC in the lawsuit. Earthjustice is representing NY/NJ Baykeeper, Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, Food and Water Watch, Surfrider and Sierra Club.

In the New Jersey litigation, Eastern Environmental Law Center filed the petition on behalf of NY/NJ Baykeeper, Princeton Manor Homeowners Association, Central Jersey Safe Energy Coalition, Food & Water Watch, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and Sierra Club. NRDC filed separately.