Three months after Tulsa’s Williams Cos. received approval from the state of New Jersey to build a controversial natural gas pipeline to carry gas from Pennsylvania to New York City and Long Island, an environmental group has filed suit against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
- It is the latest legal step in a long series of attempts by Williams to build natural gas pipelines to bring natural gas into New York state. Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong (R) is the former President and CEO of Williams and after being appointed to replace Markwayne Mullin who became Director of Homeland Security, Armstrong has made energy permitting reform his number one goal as a Senator.
In filing his American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act last month, he said the bill not only addresses the streamlining of federal permitting for such projects as the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, but it would reduce opportunities for what he called “frivolous litigation that delays projects.”
The latest lawsuit might very well be an example of what Senator Armstrong has classified as “predatory” litigation which he contends is crippling U.S. energy infrastructure. The bill he filed would set reasonable timelines for legal challenges and limit who can sue. Armstrong has contended in recent weeks that groups with little connection to the projects are weaponizing the judicial system, dragging permits into court for years and injecting massive risk into investments.
He further warned the delays accumulate costs that are ultimately passed onto American families through higher power rates, while also compromising national security.
Clean Ocean Action filed suit over New Jersey’s approval for a license to the Northeast Supply Enhancement project. New Jersey gave approval in May, even though there was considerable opposition from environmental advocates. In a press release of its lawsuit, Clean Ocean said that even Jane Fonda weighed in on the matter, penning a letter to Gov. Mikie Sherrill urging her administration to reject the license for NESE.
“The decision to approve a Tidelands license for NESE is all harm and no gain for New Jersey,” Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, said in a statement. “Why is New Jersey letting New York contaminate and damage our bay with toxins that will violate NJ’s public health, marine ecosystem, and economy, in exchange for cheap natural gas it doesn’t need?”
“We’re not messing around — the decision to approve a Tidelands license for NESE is all harm
and no gain for New Jersey,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action.
“Why is New Jersey letting New York contaminate and damage our bay with toxins that will
violate NJ’s public health, marine ecosystem, and economy, in exchange for cheap natural gas it
doesn’t need? This is outrageous and defies logic and the law.”
“This appeal involves the Tidelands Resource Council’s abdication of its duties to New Jersey
residents and a violation of its authority,” said longtime ocean protection counsel, Andrew J. Provence.
“There can be no compromise that excuses this conduct and allows State-owned tidelands to be used and damaged without any public benefit contrary to the statutes designed to prevent this outcome.”
Under New Jersey’s Tidelands Act, the TRC is legally responsible for ensuring that the use of the
state’s underwater lands serves the public interest. These tidelands are public trust resources
owned by the people of New Jersey and play a critical role in supporting wildlife and sustaining
the local economy.
“NESE will have irreversible impacts on our Bay, marine life, and public health,” said Madison
Wurst, Ocean Policy Advocate at Clean Ocean Action. “From the resuspension of toxic
sediments and harmful dredging to impacts on marine ecosystems and endangered species, the
project is not in the public interest. Years of opposition from municipalities, environmental
organizations, and residents demonstrate that NESE is opposed not only in New Jersey but also
in New York. Many of the groups fighting the project are based in New York, where the
pipeline’s purported benefits would occur, and multiple studies have concluded that New York
does not need the additional natural gas supply. NESE is a bad investment for everyone and must
be stopped.”
Background:
Williams/Transco’s NESE project would transport extracted fracked gas from Pennsylvania
which would then be piped through New Jersey to New York. The project requires a new
compressor station in Franklin Township, as well as a 23.4-mile pipeline through
Raritan Bay and the ocean to New York
The NJ portion of the pipeline required the approval of a utility license by the Tidelands
Resource Council under the NJ Tidelands Act, which protects underwater lands for NJ’s public
interest. The TRC is a 12-member, Governor-appointed council that has the authority to sell,
lease, or license the tidelands if they decide the projects are in the public interest of New Jersey.
At the May 6, 2026, TRC meeting, the council approved a 7-year license, despite over 95% of
public testimony opposing the license identifying many harms and no benefits to NJ.
COA has been fighting Williams/Transco’s NESE project since its application in 2017, along
with many NJ and NY regional, state and local groups and community members, including
elected officials. COA has also led anti-NESE campaigns for years.
In 2024, Transco officially rescinded the application after repeated denials from primarily New
York and New Jersey, successfully stopping the project. But when President Trump was elected
and called for more fossil fuel development, Transco revived and expedited the project. In May
2025, President Trump and Governor Hochul reportedly cut a deal to trade fossil fuels for
offshore wind. Once opposed to the NESE project, Governor Hochul approved its key permits,
and President Trump removed a stop-work order on Empire Wind project off New Jersey.
