Raritan Bay Gas Pipeline Nears Construction

A gas pipeline under Raritan Bay sounds like a local permitting story. But it’s really about something bigger — whether a long-delayed fossil-fuel project can finally move from paperwork to heavy construction in one of the most fought-over energy corridors in the Northeast. What changed this week is specific: New Jersey’s Tidelands Resource Council approved a utility license for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, or Transco, to use state tidelands in the bay. That’s one more piece of the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, better known as NESE, falling into place. (dep.nj.gov) ### What did New Jersey just approve? The May 6 agenda for the Tidelands Resource Council listed Transco’s application for a utility license covering a Cheesequake Creek tributary and Raritan Bay in Sayreville. That license matters because tidelands are state-owned lands that are now or once were flowed by tide, so a private company needs s(dep.nj.gov)val tied directly to the underwater route. (dep.nj.gov) ### What is NESE, exactly? NESE is an expansion of Williams’ Transco gas system. The full project adds pipeline and compression from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to the New York City area. Federal filings describe it as roughly 37 miles of looping plus new compression, designed to add about 400,000 dekatherms per day of gas capacity. The(dep.nj.gov)d Queens. (ferc.gov) ### Is the bay segment really 23 miles? Not exactly in New Jersey alone. NJDEP documents break the offshore “Raritan Bay Loop” into about 5.96 miles in waters off the Sayreville shoreline, while broader coverage of the project often refers to a roughly 23.3-mile underwater segment spanning Raritan Bay, Lower New York Bay, and the Atlantic approach to the Rockaway c(ferc.gov)nt, one for the larger offshore route. (dep.nj.gov) ### Didn’t this project already get approved before? Yes — and that’s why the story feels confusing. FERC approved NESE back in 2019. But state-level permits in New Jersey and New York became the choke point, and the project stalled for years amid denials, litigation, and revised applications. NJDEP then approved a package of major land-use and wa(dep.nj.gov)n January 12, 2026. This week’s tidelands vote is another step in that restart. (ferc.gov) ### Why are environmental groups still so alarmed? Because the fight was never just about one permit. Opponents argue the project would lock in more gas use, stir up contaminated sediment, and disrupt marine habitat during construction. NOAA already issued an incidental harassment authorization allowing disturbance to marine mammals during construction activity, co(ferc.gov)unlimited harm is allowed — but it does show the wildlife impacts are concrete enough to require federal authorization. (federalregister.gov) ### What does Williams say the project is for? Williams frames NESE as a reliability and capacity project for downstate New York. The company says it would add about 400,000 dekatherms per day — which it translates to the daily needs of roughly 2.3 million (federalregister.gov) see a decades-long bet on more fossil infrastructure. (williams.com) ### Has construction already started? In a broad sense, yes. Williams held a groundbreaking for NESE in Brooklyn on April 14, 2026, and described that event as the official start of construction. But permitting and construction are not one clean moment here — they overlap. The bay crossing still draws outsized attention because underwater work is the most politically and environmentally sensitive part. (williams.com) ### So what’s the bottom line? The simplest way to read this is: the Raritan Bay pipeline is no longer stuck in the same old loop of “maybe someday.” New Jersey just cleared another tangible hurdle for Transco’s underwater route, and the broader NESE project is already moving. But the catc(williams.com)ent. (dep.nj.gov)