The U.S. Court of Appeals for the\u00a02nd\u00a0Circuit\u00a0upheld New York’s Clean Water Act permit for\u00a0Williams\u2019 Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project on Friday, a decision that could prove important as a decision appealing the same water quality permit approval in New Jersey awaits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s ruling in the case of Raritan Baykeeper, et al. v. New York State Department of Environmental\u00a0Conservation determined that New York adequately justified its reversal from a 2020 denial of the project because state regulators\u00a0properly addressed environmental concerns in the updated application, thus allowing the project to proceed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Environmental groups have been challenging the water quality certification (WQC) in New York and New Jersey for the natural gas pipeline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
NJBIA is an amicus in the\u00a03rd\u00a0Circuit case, supporting the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issuance of a water quality certificate for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The NESE project\u00a0will deliver natural gas from Pennsylvania\u00a0through New Jersey\u00a0to New York City\u00a0via\u00a0new\u00a0pipelines\u00a0beneath Raritan Bay and New York Harbor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although\u00a0the project does not\u00a0serve New Jersey utility customers, the state will benefit economically from the construction phase of the project, including direct and indirect job creation and an increase in state and local tax revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n