New York Reps urge state to reject fracked gas pipeline off coast

William’s proposed gas pipeline is shown in red. Existing pipelines are shown in blue. Map courtesy of William’s Company

CITYWIDE — MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK congressional delegation are urging the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reject the William’s company’s proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement Project, a 23.5-mile fracked gas pipeline that would cut through the ocean floor south of Brooklyn, near Staten Island and the Rockaways, according to a letter shared by Rep. Dan Goldman, who represents Western Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.

The letter says the NESE pipeline would “endanger marine ecosystems, threaten public health and undermine New York’s landmark climate goals by locking the state into decades of new fossil fuel infrastructure.” The project has been rejected three times by DEC after failing to meet state water quality standards.

This project “would bury 17 miles of fracked gas pipeline under the ocean floor in ecologically sensitive waters,” the members wrote, adding that Williams’ plan would require “dredging through contaminated sediments containing arsenic, lead, mercury, PCBs and dioxins.”

Signees include Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Dan Goldman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nydia Velázquez, Adriano Espaillat, Grace Meng, Yvette Clark, Gregory Meeks, Hakeem Jeffries and Richie Torres.

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