100+ Protest 23-Mile-Long Natural Gas Pipeline Under Raritan Bay

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — More than 100 people, including Republican and Democrat local lawmakers, gathered in Middletown's Bayshore Waterfront Park Tuesday evening to protest a 23-mile long natural gas pipeline proposed to be built under Raritan Bay.

This is the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, which will carry natural gas fracked in Pennsylvania to New York state. The company that seeks to build it is Williams, the U.S. natural gas giant that owns the Transco pipeline, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York/New Jersey.

Williams wants to build 3.4 miles of new pipeline under the ground in Old Bridge and Sayreville, plus an additional 23.3 miles of new pipeline under the seabed of Raritan Bay. The natural gas pipeline will enter the bay in Cliffwood Beach and terminate in Rockaway, Queens.

Environmental groups are calling on Gov. Phil Murphy, in the final months of his second term as New Jersey governor, to stop the pipeline, "affirming his legacy as a climate change leader," said the Sierra Club.

"We are not commenting due to the pending nature of the pipeline application," a spokeswoman for Gov. Murphy said Wednesday.

Williams is still awaiting key permits from both New Jersey and New York before it can start any work. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation first has to approve the pipeline, then the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will make a decision.

A total of 15 towns along Raritan Bay — including Middletown — passed resolutions opposing the NESE pipeline. Several Republican lawmakers, including Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (the former mayor of Middletown) and Rumson Councilman John Conklin, are against the pipeline.

Conklin said at the protest Tuesday:

"I ask that the residents of the towns that benefit from these majestic rivers, from Sea Bright, Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, Little Silver, Red Bank, Middletown, Long Branch and Fair Haven, come aware of the potential toxic cocktail that might be unleashed on their doorstep."

"Local residents who live along the Jersey Shore have witnessed a remarkable renaissance of the Raritan Bay, with clean water, reseeded oyster beds and a general reinvigorated marine environment," said Scharfenberger. "We cannot afford to place all this progress in jeopardy."

Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner and Red Bank Councilman Ben Forest, both Democrats, also spoke at Tuesday's protest.

Williams has tried to build this pipeline several times before (in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) and all their applications were rejected by both the states of New Jersey and New York, saying construction of the pipeline could damage the water quality of Raritan Bay.

Food & Water Watch says President Donald Trump is making deals with Democratic governors to allow the pipeline to be built. This June report in the Financial Times said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul may approve the pipeline in exchange for Trump allowing Empire Wind farm, currently being built 19 miles off Long Branch, to be built.

Neither Hochul nor Trump have confirmed this.

"Trump is pushing the pipeline very hard right now. They are trying to ram this through," said Alex Domb of Food & Water Watch.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s will hold its only public hearing on NESE Wednesday, Sept. 10. The virtual hearing will be from 6-9 p.m. and held at www.dep.nj.gov/nese. The deadline to submit written public comments about NESE is September 24; comments can be submitted at www.dep.nj.gov/nese.

Prior: Plans Revived For Natural Gas Pipeline That Will Run Under Raritan Bay

From the NJ Sierra Club, here are the 15 local towns that passed resolutions against the NESE pipeline:

• Aberdeen
• Atlantic Highlands
• Hazlet
• Highlands
• Keyport
• Matawan
• Monmouth Beach
• Monmouth County
• Keansburg
• Union Beach
• Middletown
• Old Bridge
• Red Bank
• Rumson
• Sea Bright

Tuesday's rally was attended by the Sierra Club, Clean Ocean Action and NJ Food & Water Watch, among other groups. Cindy Zipf, the director of Jersey Shore-based Clean Ocean Action and who has been very critical of offshore wind farms, is also against the natural gas pipeline.

"The project has been denied over and over because it violates laws, including those protecting marine life," Zipf said Tuesday. "For decades, thousands of folks and elected officials worked hard and invested billions of dollars to improve the bay, and it’s come a long way. The health of the bay is getting better every day. NESE will re-suspend over a million tons of the old toxic muck, re-contaminating the bay and waterways for years."