Deny NESE May 2025 Petition
FERC Chairman Christie and Commissioners Rosner, See and Chang
IT’S BACK !!!
NESE – Raritan Bay Gas Pipeline Project
One year ago, Williams Transco wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) that it would let their certificate order expire for the NESE Raritan Bay gas pipeline project and, essentially, not continue with the NESE project. As a result, FERC vacated the original order.
Unfortunately, Williams Transco recently submitted an application asking FERC to reissue the certificate order and for expedited action so that it can “start the construction on the project by the end of the year”.
From the start, the NESE project was a money grab with no proven benefits for New York or New Jersey.
The project involves the construction of a new gas-powered compressor station in Franklin Township, 3.5 miles of new connecting pipeline through Old Bridge, and 23 miles of new pipeline under the Raritan Bay and New York Harbor.
The proposed compressor station will create air and water pollution with the release of toxic chemicals and will spread to surrounding areas of central New Jersey. The gases emitted can increase the risk of asthma, cardiovascular, neurological, developmental and respiratory diseases.
In addition, Raritan Bay and residents in the surrounding areas will be collateral damage. The project will harm marine life and negatively impact recreational uses of Raritan Bay including diving, kayaking, boating, surfing, and wildlife viewing.
For more information, see our 2019 post: 2019 CHARGE Post
This project is not in the public interest for New Jersey residents. The communities in New Jersey will receive the direct impacts of pipeline leakage and compressor station pollution with no benefits to residents of New Jersey.
Please join our coalition to stop this project once again by signing the petition urging FERC to deny the request to reissue the Certificate Order and require a new petition if Transco wants to revive the project.
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Sponsored by
To:
FERC Chairman Christie and Commissioners Rosner, See and Chang
From:
[Your Name]
Before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – Docket No. CP17-101-007, CP20-49-001
The undersigned respectfully urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) to deny the petition for the re-issuance of the Certificate Order and expedited action of the petition to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) for its Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project.
1. During the period of multiple extensions granted by the Commission, Transco has not demonstrated good faith efforts to meet the deadline for the construction of the project. In fact, in an email dated April 10, 2024, shortly before the expiration of the last extension, the company wrote: “Williams plans to let the NESE certificate expire in May 2024 and will not be seeking another extension.” As a direct result, the Commission vacated the Certificate Order in June 2024.
The project entails dredging through Raritan Bay, which includes a superfund site, and will stir up over 1 million tons of contaminated harmful muck through dredging that includes PCBs, dioxin, lead, mercury and arsenic in the Bay. Since the start of the application process over seven years ago, additional sediment has settled providing further protection from decades of toxic contaminants that have been dumped in the Bay. At a minimum, this means a new environmental study should be required.
Through its voluntary action, Transco has abandoned the original NESE project and the Commission has vacated the Certificate Order. That docket was closed.
The data and environmental study associated with the original petition are 7+ years old and stale. If Transco wishes to revive this project, it should be required to file the project as a new petition with new data and information for the Commission to consider.
2. Transco stated that it is requesting expedited action so it can “start construction on the Project by the end of the year.”
Despite multiple extensions of the original Certificate Order, Transco was unable to secure the necessary permits from New York and New Jersey. During that time, Transco did not assert any meaningful progress toward the application process with New York or New Jersey. It did not refile permit applications with New York or New Jersey in the four years since the denials. Transco also did not assert any extraordinary circumstances that prevented the company from meeting the deadline set by the Commission. We refer the Commission to our comments submitted on May 18, 2023 for a more detailed discussion on how Transco failed to make good-faith efforts to meet its deadline to complete construction and make the project available for service.
Transco has not provided any compelling evidence to demonstrate that it will be able to secure those permits any time soon. There appears to be no basis for the presumption that it can “start construction on the Project by the end of the year.” This is putting the cart before the horse. In addition to the need to file as a new petition, a request for expedited action appears to be unwarranted and unnecessary.
3. Finally, given that the original project was presumed “dead” when the Certificate Order was vacated, the complexity of the project and the stale data, we ask that the Commission extend the comment period to 90 days to ensure stakeholders have sufficient time to thoroughly review and provide informed feedback on the Transco submission. This extension will enable a more comprehensive and meaningful engagement process, ensuring that all recent changes, current data and information are transparently assessed.
For all the above reasons, we urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) to deny the petition for the re-issuance of the Certificate Order to Transco for the NESE project.