NESE pipeline project up for fourth review after repeated denials over NY water quality concerns

The long-delayed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline has returned for a fourth attempt at securing New York State approval, five years after regulators repeatedly denied its water quality permits. The project, proposed by Williams Cos. and supported by National Grid, would include a 17.4-mile underwater natural gas pipeline segment running through the Raritan and Lower New York Bays, near Staten Island’s shoreline. 

According to a report by SILive, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rejected the project in 2018, 2019, and 2020 under the Clean Water Act, citing risks to marine habitats, shellfish beds, and sediment contamination from mercury and copper. The agency concluded construction “would not meet the state’s rigorous water quality standards.”

Now under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration, the DEC faces a November 30, 2025 deadline to act on the project’s renewed Water Quality Certification application, SILive reported. The project also requires additional Article 15 Protection of Waters and SPDES discharge permits.

Local leaders and environmental groups across Staten Island and coastal New Jersey continue to oppose the $1 billion-plus proposal, arguing it would disturb decades of contaminated seabed and raise utility bills by 3.5% for National Grid customers, even though the gas would not serve Staten Island. The pipeline’s backers maintain it would enhance reliability for downstate gas demand, but opponents insist the project remains unnecessary and environmentally risky.

If approved, the NESE pipeline would mark a major shift in New York’s energy permitting policy — potentially signaling a loosening of restrictions on underwater pipeline construction in state waters.

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