New York (U.S.) approves permit for Williams NESE natgas pipe, Constitution Pipe withdraws application
- Williams NESE pipeline approved after previous rejections
- S. President Trump sought revival of Williams gas pipes
- Constitution Pipeline withdrew permit application due to incomplete information
- Williams says it will refile for Constitution permits
New York environmental regulators on Friday approved a water permit for U.S. energy company Williams Cos' long-delayed and controversial Northeast Supply Enhancement natural gas pipeline project in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In addition, the company's Constitution gas-pipe project from Pennsylvania to New York withdrew its application for permits.
Both projects were controversial in part because they were previously rejected by environmental regulators in New York and canceled by Williams in past years before U.S. President Donald Trump sought their revival after returning to office this year.
Williams canceled Constitution in 2020 and NESE in 2024 after years of fighting for permits, especially water permits, from state regulators.
In May, the Trump administration used New York's reconsideration of Williams' proposed gas pipes in the state as part of a deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to lift a federal ban on construction of Norwegian energy firm Equinor's Empire Wind offshore wind farm off New York.
Hochul did not agree to approve either pipe project but said the state would work with the U.S. administration and private entities on projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said Constitution Pipeline withdrew its application for permits on Friday, including the required Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification, after the DEC's issuance of three Notices of Incomplete Application for insufficient information.
In an email, Williams said the company "continues to advance the Constitution Pipeline project. The company has withdrawn its current water permit application with DEC and is preparing to follow up with additional filings to ensure that this critical infrastructure project obtains the regulatory approvals needed for construction and operation."
The DEC said its July 2, August 26, and September 30, 2025 notices detailed the requirements necessary to meet New York's thresholds for an application to be determined complete for public review and comment, and said Constitution Pipeline "did not fulfill these repeated information requests."
NESE approval. "Expanding natural gas infrastructure is vital to lowering costs and increasing economic opportunity, and the NESE and Constitution projects are important to connecting energy to opportunity in the Northeast," Williams CEO Chad Zamarin told media in an email.
The DEC said Williams' Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co (Transco) unit resubmitted the application for NESE in May 2025. The DEC said it received more than 17,000 new public comments on the project.
As part of its approval of NESE, the DEC said it set construction windows to avoid sediment disturbance during critical times of year to protect the life cycles of hard clams and minimize impacts to aquatic species, including Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon and winter flounder. The DEC estimated these mitigation efforts would cost about $23.5 MM.
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