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Court vacates New Jersey's permit for $1 billion Northeast gas pipeline. PUBLISH DATE 10 Sep, 2026 at 2:39 pm The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Sep. 8 vacated New Jersey's water quality certification for the $1 billion Northeast Supply Enhancement natural gas pipeline, ruling that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection failed to adequately demonstrate the project would comply with state water quality standards before issuing the permit. The decision sends the certification back to the agency for further review, creating another regulatory hurdle for one of the region's largest natural gas infrastructure projects. The proposed project, developed by Williams Companies through Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, would expand an existing interstate natural gas system by adding a new pipeline beneath Raritan Bay to transport additional gas from Pennsylvania to New York. The appeals court found that the department improperly deferred key monitoring and corrective measures until after issuing the certification and did not sufficiently explain how dredging contaminated bay sediments would meet New Jersey's environmental standards. The ruling follows years of regulatory reversals. New Jersey denied the project's certification in 2019 after concluding that the developer had not demonstrated compliance with water quality requirements and rejected another application in 2020 after New York denied a related permit. The department later approved a revised application in November 2025, prompting lawsuits from environmental organizations that argued unresolved concerns over contaminated sediments, monitoring requirements, and dredging impacts remained largely unchanged. The court did not permanently block the pipeline, leaving the department free to conduct additional analysis and issue a revised certification if it can adequately support its findings. Williams Companies maintained that the decision does not undermine the project's environmental case and continues to target a late-2027 completion while working with state regulators to address the court's concerns. The decision drew contrasting reactions across the energy sector. The Natural Resources Defense Council welcomed the ruling as an important safeguard for New Jersey waterways, arguing that stronger protections are needed before dredging can proceed in Raritan Bay. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association described the decision as a procedural setback rather than a permanent rejection, emphasizing that the project remains eligible for further state review and continues to be viewed as an important investment in regional energy infrastructure. EnerKnol Pulses like this one are powered by the EnerKnol Platform - the first comprehensive database for real-time energy policy tracking. Sign up for a free trial below for access to key regulatory data and deep industry insights across the energy spectrum.

Williams Companies loses key environmental permit for Northeast pipeline project. Market News 10 Sep 2026 Seeking Alpha The Williams Companies, Inc. recently faced a court ruling that revoked an important environmental permit for its pipeline project in the Northeast. This setback affects their plans to supply lower-cost natural gas to the energy-constrained Northeast region. Despite this, the company continues to grow through acquisitions like Momentum Midstream and access to Gulf exports, supported by strong Q2 earnings and multiple ongoing projects. The regulatory challenges in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic have been persistent, but changing political realities may influence future developments.

US court vacates key NJ permit for Williams NESE gas pipe from Pennsylvania to New York. By Scott DiSavino Wed, September 9, 2026 at 11:36 AM PDT By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a key New Jersey water permit for U.S. energy company Williams Cos' long-delayed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. The court said in a ruling on Tuesday that it granted petitions by environmental groups, vacated the Water Quality Certification and remanded the case to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). "Following the Third Circuit's decision, we are working promptly with state regulatory officials to address the court's findings and remain committed to advancing the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project," Cherice Corley, a spokesperson at Williams, told Reuters in an email. "At this time, we do not expect the decision to adversely affect project construction or the anticipated in-service timeline," Corley said. A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit last November against the NJDEP for unjustifiably approving the certification for NESE, after first rejecting the project in 2019 for failure to demonstrate compliance with state water quality standards. "When the water quality certificate was denied in 2019, that should have been the end of it," said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer at Food & Water Watch, one of the environmental groups opposing the project. NESE is a roughly $1 billion project under construction by Williams' Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co (Transco) unit that would expand the existing Transco gas pipe. NESE includes the construction of an offshore pipe in the Raritan Bay between New Jersey and New York. The environmental groups contended that the underwater segment would require dredging the bay floor, stirring up sediment containing toxic contaminants like mercury and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), which could pose risks to human health and marine habitats. Williams officially broke ground on NESE in Brooklyn, New York, in April 2026. In addition to NESE, Williams is developing another long-delayed gas pipe in the region, Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. Both projects were controversial in part because they were previously rejected by state environmental regulators and canceled by Williams in past years before U.S. President Donald Trump sought their revival after returning to office in 2025. Williams said on its website that it targeted completion of NESE in the fourth quarter of 2027 and Constitution in the fourth quarter of 2028. NESE is designed to move around 0.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas from Pennsylvania, across New Jersey and into New York. Constitution, which is not under construction, is designed to move around 0.65 bcfd of gas from Pennsylvania to New York. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply around five million U.S. homes for a day. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino, Editing by Nick Zieminski)