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'We're against the pipeline': NY governor takes stand against Transco project

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'We're against the pipeline': NY governor takes stand against Transco project

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on a public radio program that the state opposes Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC's Northeast Supply Enhancement expansion project, designed to bring an additional 400 MMcf/d of natural gas to markets near New York City.

"We have taken a position," Cuomo said during a Sept. 24 discussion about whether the state was negotiating with utilities that have reduced gas service due to pipeline constraints. "We're against the pipeline. That's our position." The Brian Lehrer Show is produced by WNYC FM, a listener-supported radio station from New York Public Radio.

The governor also said he frowned on the tactics of the utilities, National Grid USA and Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc., which he described as "wrongfully turning off gas service to homes to create political pressure." National Grid utilities are customers of the Transco project.

Groups that have fought the project were pleased with the governor's public statement. New York has denied or delayed Clean Water Act permit applications for several pipeline projects within its borders in the last few years, with the Northeast Supply Enhancement project one of the most recent.

"This is the clearest sign yet that we are winning this fight, and that National Grid — with its fake gas shortage, abusive tactics, and attempts at extortion — is losing it miserably," the Stop the Williams Pipeline coalition said in a Sept. 25 news release. "We have been battling this pipeline for almost three years, and we are proud to have changed the conversation in the governor's office, and about fracked gas infrastructure in general."

The coalition, a joint effort of environmental groups and other organizations, observed that in the past when Cuomo was asked about the pipeline, he deferred to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Transco parent company Williams Cos. Inc., responding to the governor's statement, emphasized efforts to comply with the state permitting process. "Williams filed a new permit application with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in May 2019," spokesperson Christopher Stockton said Sept. 26. "We remain committed to installing this much-needed energy infrastructure in an environmentally responsible manner and in compliance with the state's high environmental standards."

Cuomo has tried to lead New York toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels, an effort that has included a regulatory and legal battle over natural gas pipelines.

New York utilities have expressed concern over their gas supply because of their state's objections to new pipeline construction. National Grid said it would not provide distribution service to new customers in Long Island and New York City service areas until the state reconsiders its rejection of the water permit. On Jan. 18, Consolidated Edison announced a planned moratorium on new oil-to-gas conversions for customers in part of the utility's Westchester County service territory north of New York City.

The Northeast Supply Enhancement project has faced challenges in permitting processes controlled by state agencies and from conservation groups and residents. In a June 5 decision, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection rejected key permits, saying Transco had not adequately compared the project to other energy options. On May 15, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dismissed Transco's request for a Clean Water Act permit. The state agency said the developer failed to show how the project would comply with water quality standards.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Transco expansion May 3. The project, estimated to cost about $927 million at the time of the FERC application, would consist of a compressor station and sections of pipeline, including almost 24 miles of 26-inch-diameter pipeline that would run underwater from New Jersey through New York's Richmond and Queens counties to connect to Transco's Rockaway delivery lateral in Queens, N.Y. (FERC docket CP17-101)

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