Gothamist · Rosemary Misdary · September 8, 2026
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A federal appeals court on Tuesday put a halt on the proposed natural gas pipeline running from Pennsylvania through New Jersey and New York, ruling the massive project violates the Garden State’s water-quality standards.
The ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals negated the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s earlier certification of a key section of the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, which includes approximately 10 miles of 26-inch-diameter conduits running through Middlesex County wetlands and offshore under Raritan Bay.
Both New Jersey and New York state approved the pipeline last November, and a ground-breaking ceremony was held in April at Floyd Bennet Field in New York City. The project would bring enough fracked gas from Pennsylvania to serve more than 2 million New York City homes, according to its owner, The Williams Company.
The project, however, has been controversial from the start. The environmental regulators of New Jersey and New York rejected it multiple times, citing water-quality violations. Nonetheless, both states fast-tracked it for approval last spring under pressure from the Trump administration.
“The court's order makes clear that an agency can't issue that water quality certification without assuring that the project will comply with all water quality standards, and here the agency just didn't do that,” said Jackson Garrity, staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which challenged the approvals in court.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection declined to comment.
The appeals court ruled that the project violated water-quality standards. The section of proposed pipeline in Raritan Bay requires dredging the ocean floor, stirring-up toxic contaminants such as arsenic and PCBs. The reintroduced toxins can affect marine ecosystems such as shellfish, but also threaten human health, according to lawsuit filings.
“The court’s ruling makes it illegal for them to begin construction without a state certification,” Garrity said. “It also wouldn't make sense for them to start construction in New York as a practical matter because it would be a pipeline to nowhere.”
The NRDC also filed a lawsuit challenging the 17-mile portion of the pipeline proposed offshore near Staten Island and the Rockaways in New York, but last month the court ruled in favor of the pipeline. Another lawsuit challenges federal approval of the project.
“We are reviewing the court's decision,” said Williams spokesperson Cherice Corley. “The Northeast Supply Enhancement project remains critical to strengthening energy reliability and meeting the region's growing energy demand.”
Opponents of the pipeline allege violations of New York state’s climate law as justification. The law mandates that the state run on fossil-fuel-free power by 2040.
Energy experts also contend the additional natural gas will not provide additional power generation and transmission capacity that the grid needs for resilience and reliability.
The new infrastructure would collectively cost utility customers roughly $200 million more annually for the next 15 years, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an independent research group.
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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