Tidelands council clears Transco to start 23-mile Raritan Bay gas-pipeline construction
- New Jersey’s Tidelands Resource Council voted May 6 to give Williams Transco the utility license it needed to build the NESE gas pipeline under Raritan Bay. - The project would add 400,000 dekatherms a day of gas capacity, with roughly 23.5 miles of new underwater pipe and a target start-up in late 2027. - It matters because this was New Jersey’s last key state signoff, though court fights and environmental backlash could still slow the build.
Natural-gas infrastructure is back in the middle of a New Jersey political fight. On May 6, the state’s Tidelands Resource Council approved the utility license Williams Transco needed for its Northeast Supply Enhancement project — usually shortened to NESE. That license covers construction under state-owned tidelands in Raritan Bay and connected waterways, and it was the last major New Jersey approval the company still needed. The stakes are simple enough: more gas capacity for downstate New York, but more dredging, disturbance, and climate blowback for communities around the bay. ### What exactly got approved? Not the whole pipeline from scratch — that part is easy to miss. Federal regulators had already certificated the broader project years ago, and New Jersey environmental permits were approved on November 7, 2025, with an air permit for the compressor station following on January 12, 2026. What the council approved this week was the tidelands utility license for work in state-owned submerged land, including the Raritan Bay crossing. (tristateinfrastructurenews.com) ### What is NESE, in plain English? Basically, it is an expansion of Williams’ existing Transco system running across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The project is designed to add about 400,000 dekatherms per day of gas-delivery capacity to an offshore transfer point near Queens, serving National Grid customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. New Jersey’s offshore piece is the Raritan Loop, while the full project also includes pipeline work in Pennsylvania and a new compressor station in Somerset County. (ferc.gov) ### How big is the underwater piece? The underwater segment is large enough to make local resistance very concrete. New York state describes the overall project as including about 23.5 miles of new underwater pipeline, with about 17.4 miles in New York waters. New Jersey’s own project page breaks out the offshore Raritan Loop at about 5.95 miles in New Jersey waters, plus connected onshore and inland components. So when people say “23-mile Raritan Bay pipeline,” they are usually collapsing the broader offshore build into one phrase. (dep.nj.gov) ### Why did supporters want this so badly? Williams and federal officials are selling NESE as a reliability and price project. The company says the added capacity is enough energy to serve the equivalent of 2.3 million homes, and the current schedule still points to service beginning in the fourth quarter of 2027. The pitch is that constrained pipeline capacity has made winter gas supply tighter and more expensive in the New York City region. (dec.ny.gov) ### Why are opponents so angry? Because this is not just a pipe on a map. Environmental groups argue the bay crossing would damage habitat, stir up contaminated sediment, and lock the region into decades more fossil-fuel dependence. One coalition opposing the license said the offshore project threatens more than 93,000 square feet of critical habitat. At the May 6 hearing, more than 50 people spoke against the project, while only two spoke in favor. (williams.com) ### Why is this being called a comeback? Turns out NESE has been fighting for its life for years. The project was first proposed in the late 2010s and repeatedly ran into denials or roadblocks from New York and New Jersey regulators. The approvals issued in late 2025 and early 2026 marked a sharp reversal, and the tidelands vote pushed that reversal over the line in New Jersey. (cleanoceanaction.org) ### Can construction start immediately? Maybe, but not with zero risk. Opponents are still challenging approvals in state and federal courts, including a federal case in New York with oral arguments scheduled for June 18. So the license is a huge win for Williams, but it does not mean every legal threat has disappeared. ### Bottom line The real news is not that a pipeline was proposed — that happened years ago. (ferc.gov) The news is that New Jersey just cleared the last big state hurdle for construction under Raritan Bay. If the court challenges fail, NESE moves from zombie project to actual pipeline. (sierraclub.org) (sjclimate.news)
