Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project
Applicant
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company LLC
2800 Post Oak Blvd Level 17
Houston, TX 77056
Project
Northeast Supply Enhancement Project ("NESE Project")
DEC ID #
2-9902-00109
Project Description
The NESE Project is a 26-inch diameter pipeline proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company LLC (Transco) that would transport natural gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey, traveling underwater in the Raritan Bay and Lower New York Bay to approximately three miles offshore of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens Borough. Approximately 23.5 miles of underwater pipeline will be installed, of which approximately 17.4 miles would be in New York State waters.
The NESE Project would connect to the existing Rockaway Delivery Lateral in Queens and would provide 400,000 dekatherms per day of incremental capacity to National Grid to serve customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. According to Transco, the project is intended to support reliability as well as help displace the use of oil.
Status of NYSDEC Application Review Process
Transco has applied to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for the following permits for the NESE Project:
- Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC)
- Article 15 Protection of Waters Permit
- Endangered/Threatened Species (Incidental Take) Permit
- Industrial State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) - Surface Discharge Permit
Filed application documents for the NESE Project (link leaves DEC website) are available at: http://northeastsupplyenhancement.com/.
On June 30, 2017, Transco originally submitted a Joint Application for Permits for the NESE Project. NYSDEC denied the original June 30, 2017 WQC application without prejudice on April 20, 2018, due to incomplete information and an ongoing environmental review by FERC. On May 16, 2018, Transco submitted a new WQC application to NYSDEC, which was supplemented on multiple occasions with further additional information, including in response to requests from NYSDEC. A public comment period and public statement hearings were held in early 2019 and NYSDEC subsequently denied the 2018 WQC application (PDF) without prejudice on May 15, 2019.
On May 17, 2019, Transco submitted a new WQC application to NYSDEC for the NESE Project. The 2019 WQC application included changes from the 2018 version, in response to the 2019 WQC Denial and otherwise. Transco supplemented the 2019 WQC application on May 23, 2019 and June 19, 2019. NYSDEC held a public comment period between May 29, 2019 through July 13, 2019 during which over 16,000 public comments were received from individuals or organizations.
Based on NYSDEC's review of the May 17, 2019 WQC application for the NESE Project, including all supplemental materials, review of the over 16,000 public comments received, and review of the FEIS and other record materials associated with the NESE Project, NYSDEC has determined that the construction of the Project would likely have significant water quality impacts in New York State. This includes significant water quality impacts from the resuspension of sediments and other contaminants, including mercury and copper, particularly without the use of the discretionary default mixing zone in certain areas. The Project would cause impacts to habitats due to the disturbance of shellfish beds and other benthic resources. The water quality impacts would be especially problematic within the productive hard clam area located between milepost (MP) 14.2 to MP 19.7.
On May 15, 2020, NYSDEC announced the denial of the WQC application submitted on May 17, 2019 for the required Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the proposed NESE Project. The full decision (PDF) is outlined in a letter by Daniel Whitehead, Director, Division of Environmental Permits, NYSDEC.
The Part 182 Incidental Take Permit and Environmental Conservation Law Article 15 Excavation & Fill in Navigable Waters applications remain pending before NYSDEC. Separate from the Joint Application, Transco applied on June 21, 2018 for a SPDES permit to discharge hydrostatic test water into the Atlantic Ocean. The SPDES permit application also remains pending before NYSDEC.
NEPA and FERC Process
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the lead agency for the environmental review of interstate natural gas pipelines under the federal Natural Gas Act. FERC staff prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), dated January 25, 2019 for the NESE Project, Docket No. CP17-101, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). On May 3, 2019, FERC issued Transco a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity ("Certificate") under Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act for construction and operation of the Project. The FERC FEIS and Certificate can be viewed and downloaded (link leaves DEC website) at: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/docket_search.asp by entering the Docket No. and the date of the FEIS and Certificate in the search boxes.
The federal environmental review process conducted by FERC pursuant to NEPA takes the place of an environmental review conducted under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. NYSDEC evaluates the FERC NEPA documents and the permit applications submitted by applicants to NYSDEC to ultimately make a determination regarding issuance of NYSDEC authorizations.
Contact:
Karen Gaidasz, Project Manager
Major Projects Management
NYSDEC - Division of Environmental Permits
625 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-1750
Phone: (518) 402-9167, Fax: (518) 402-9168
Email: NESEproject@dec.ny.gov
