Stay Alert – It’s Not Over
Williams/Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) has not gone
away even though the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC) rejected NESE water quality permit applications on May 15, 2020.
Williams/Transco’s Certificate of Public Convenience & Necessity from FERC for
the NESE Project was due to expire on May 3, 2021. Following an application for
an extension of time to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),
Williams/Transco got a 2-year extension on their FERC Certificate for NESE, so
now they have until May 3, 2023 to get all permits from NY and NJ, construct all
parts, and have it ready for service. (see attachment)
In Williams /Transco’s application to FERC for a 2-year extension to complete this
project, they stated that the Covid Pandemic was the reason they needed more
time and could not complete the Project by May 3, 2021. The truth is that
construction on the NESE Project could not begin because Water Quality
Certification and other permits were repeatedly denied by both NJ and NY, most
recently on May 15, 2020.
Williams/Transco said that they will apply again for Water Quality Certification
and permits from NJDEP and NYSDEC later this year.
REMAIN ALERT & READY FOR ACTION
The application documents from 2020 are still on the NJDEP website and can be
viewed at https://www.nj.gov/dep/nese. We are expecting that any new
applications will be posted here for ease of review.