Environmentalists Seek Court Review Of NJ's Approval Of $1B Interstate Pipeline

By Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor

November 24, 2025

Environmentalists have asked a federal judge to review a key approval New Jersey regulators granted earlier this month that will allow an energy developer to proceed with a controversial $1 billion underwater natural gas pipeline project between New Jersey and New York.

Regulators in both states granted required water quality permits on Nov. 7 for the 37-mile Northeast Supply Enhancement project, despite growing opposition from environmentalists and previous permit denials in 2019 and 2020 over concerns the project would violate water quality standards.

On Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as a coalition of New Jersey-based environmental groups, filed separate petitions in federal appeals court seeking review.

New Jersey’s Nov. 7 permit approval is “unjustifiable” because energy developer Williams, whose subsidiary Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company first proposed the pipeline in 2017, did not remedy the reasons for the denials when it applied for permits again last June, the groups said.

They warned the underwater segment of the proposed pipeline, which would run beneath the Raritan Bay in the New Jersey-New York Harbor, would endanger marine habitats and dredge up sediments contaminated with mercury, copper, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The pipeline also would threaten wetlands and the environment in Somerset County, where Williams wants to build a compressor station, and Middlesex and Monmouth counties, where it would link existing pipelines between Pennsylvania and New York City, the groups said.

“New Jersey’s approval completely disregards its prior, sound decision to reject this pipeline over threats to the state’s water quality. This pipeline will not only destroy wetlands across New Jersey, but also would tear up the sea floor of Raritan Bay,” the NRDC’s Jared Knicley said in a statement. “We’re taking New Jersey to court to enforce the state’s water quality standards, which are incompatible with building this harmful pipeline.”

Cherice Corley, a Williams spokeswoman, said in a statement that the project is “critical to addressing persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast” that have driven up consumers’ energy costs and deepened their reliance on alternatives like oil that are worse for the environment.

“By advancing NESE, we will deliver reliable, lower-emission energy, reduce environmental impacts, and support economic growth across the region,” Corley said.

The company has confidence in the “strength and legal durability” of New Jersey environmental officials’ permit approvals, which came after a rigorous, scientific review that ensured compliance with federal and state water quality standards, she added.

“As part of the NJDEP permit, Williams must meet enhanced requirements, including strict water quality protections, seasonal restrictions for wildlife, restoration of disturbed areas, and long-term mitigation and monitoring, to ensure full compliance with New Jersey’s environmental standards,” she said.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, declined to comment.

Christopher Miller is executive director of the Eastern Environmental Law Center, which filed a petition Tuesday on behalf of the NY/NJ Baykeeper, Princeton Manor Homeowners Association, Central Jersey Safe Energy Coalition, Food & Water Watch, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and Sierra Club.

“New Jersey’s decision to approve NESE after repeatedly rejecting the same project is indefensible,” Miller said in a statement. “It wrongly puts the interests of the fossil fuel industry above the public interest in clean water.”

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