New York and New Jersey state environmental regulators today approved key permitsfor US natural gas pipeline company Williams' planned Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) gas pipeline project.
Williams in 2024 shelved the controversial pipeline, which would increase gas transportation capacity from Pennsylvania gas fields into New York City by 400mn cf/d (11mn m³/d), because it was unable to acquire key water quality permits from state regulators in New York and New Jersey. But after US president Donald Trump retook office this year and began signaling his intention to revive NESE and Williams' unrelated 650mn cf/d Constitution pipeline, Williams in May asked federal regulators to reinstate its earlier authorization of NESE.
If built and put into operation, NESE would be the first major interstate gas pipeline project to move forward in the northeastern US since the 2 Bcf/d, West Virginia-to-Virginia Mountain Valley Pipeline entered service in June 2024. That project only moved forward because congressional action allowed it to bypass federal permitting hurdles, which make such projects daunting for developers.
Williams on Friday also withdrew its application for water quality permits for Constitution from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation after failing to fulfill repeated information requests, the state regulator said. But the pipeline company "continues to advance" Constitution "and is preparing to follow up with additional filings" to ensure it is approved for construction and operation, a Williams spokesperson told Argus.
"We're proud to move NESE forward and do our part in providing New Yorkers access to clean, reliable and affordable natural gas," Williams chief executive Chad Zamarin said in a statement. "Expanding natural gas infrastructure is vital to lowering costs and increasing economic opportunity, and the NESE and Constitution projects are important to connecting energy to opportunity in the Northeast."
New York City, which is deeply dependent on gas for its power generation and home heating, pays considerably higher prices for wholesale gas than buyers from within the nearby massive gas fields of Appalachia because the pipelines that ferry that gas east to urban population centers often run full. Spot prices at Transco zone 6 in New York, an indicator for New York City gas prices, over the past year averaged $3.77/mmBtu, 41pc higher than gas prices at the Leidy Line hub, an indicator for northeast Pennsylvania gas prices.
The revival of NESE and Constitution earlier this year followed negotiations between Trump and New York governor Kathy Hochul (D) on energy infrastructure. Those negotiations came after the Trump administration's decision in April to block work on Equinor's Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, only lifting a stop work order after talks on pipeline capacity took place.
The Trump administration alleged the administration of former US president Joe Biden had rushed the approval process. The Norwegian developer at the time called the order "unprecedented" and "unlawful".
Hochul has consistently denied allegations that Williams' renewed hopes for gas pipelines into New York stemmed from any sort of deal between herself and Trump.
"We need to govern in reality," Hochul said in a statement Friday. "We are facing a war against clean energy from Washington Republicans, including our New York delegation, which is why we have adopted an all-of-the-above approach that includes a continued commitment to renewables and nuclear power to ensure grid reliability and affordability."
While NESE met the standards required by state environmental regulators to obtain a water quality permit, Constitution did not, she added.
New York's approval of the NESE pipeline drew the ire of community groups.
"Hochul just did Trump's bidding by approving the massive Williams fracked gas pipeline," activist group New York Communities for Change said Friday on social media site X. "Hochul's decided to sell us out to Trump."
