Staten Island / Queens Underwater Pipeline Project For Natural Gas Public Comment Ended: Details, What’s Next

The NYS DEP answered our questions about the brevity of the comment period and whether any valid concerns were raised by those who submitted.  Readers were alerted to this comment period last month.  A number of environmental and citizen groups sent a letter to the DEP requesting an extension of the period to 120 days instead of 30, but this request was not honored or acknowledged. Excerpts from an article explaining the letter follows DEP’s info below. 

Following are the questions we asked about the application: 

Has the public comment period ended, or has it been extended? What is the final date for the public to submit comments? 

According to the page about the project: NYSDEC will determine pursuant to 6 NYCRR 621.8 whether substantive or significant issues have been raised in the public comments to warrant an Adjudicatory Hearing.

Can you please let me know if this determination has been made already, or will it be made in the coming weeks? If there is to be a hearing, when would the announcement be made? 

Is there anything different about this project from its previous three attempted applications that were rejected by the DEC? is there an anticipated approval or rejection for this application?  

Does this project affect the already approved and currently in progress East Coast Resiliency Project being worked on by the USACE in the Hudson River area surrounding Staten Island? Specifically the Staten island East Shore Seawall and the Living Breakwaters?   

Advertisement

 Following are the answers from NYS DEP to all of the above: 

Statement from DEC

Following a legally required comprehensive evaluation of the application materials, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on July 2, 2025, determined the permit application from Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE Project) was complete for purposes of public review. This notice is a step in the permitting process and does not represent a final determination. 

DEC’s review process for natural gas pipeline proposals varies by project type and scope and are thorough, transparent, and guided by stringent state and federal environmental laws and regulations. Federal permits are also required for interstate natural gas pipeline proposals. DEC is committed to protecting public health and the environment and subjects all permit applications to a rigorous review process that encourages public input at every step‎ and ensures the protection of public health and the environment.

On Background

The public comment ended on Aug. 16, DEC is continuing to review the public comments submitted.

Information about DEC’s review processes is available on DEC’s website: Getting An Environmental Permit   

Following are some details from NYS DEP  about the project and application: 

Permit(s) Applied for:

Article 15 Title 5 Excavation & Fill in Navigable Waters
Section 401 – Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification
Article 17 Titles 7 & 8 Industrial SPDES – Surface Discharge

Project is Located:

Lower New York Bay and Raritan Bay (Queens and Richmond County)

Project Description:

The Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (“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, travelling underwater in the Raritan Bay and Lower New York Bay to approximately three miles offshore of the Rockaway Peninsula in the borough of Queens. 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.

The NESE Project would be installed a minimum of 4 feet below the sea floor through a combination of jet trenching, clamshell dredging, and horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Construction is proposed in a manner that will minimize impairment of the best usages of the waters, but mitigation may be required for unavoidable impacts. If permits are ultimately issued, compensatory mitigation would be required to offset unavoidable impacts to benthic resources, including shellfish.

Water Quality Certification (WQC) Application:

In accordance with Clean Water Act Section 401, prior to commencing construction, applicants seeking a federal license or permit for activities that may result in a discharge to navigable waters must obtain a WQC from the NYSDEC indicating that the proposed activity will comply with State water quality standards. The review and issuance of a WQC would also require approvals pursuant to Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) Article 15, Protection of Waters.

State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Application:

Prior to putting the pipeline into service, the line will be hydrostatically tested with filtered seawater treated with a corrosion inhibitor and a non-toxic fluorescent dye. The applicant has applied for an Industrial State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit for the discharge of the hydrostatic test water to two outfall locations. A draft SPDES permit (NY0296457) has been prepared which includes flow monitoring. Permit details can be seen in a draft permit and fact sheet on NYSDEC’s website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6054.html.

An article by Food and Water Watch said: 

“New Yorkers fought and stopped this project once before — and we won’t let it be rubber-stamped now,” said Laura Shindell, New York State Director at Food & Water Watch. “Rushing public input to advance a Trump-backed pipeline isn’t just a betrayal of climate law — it’s an insult to the democratic process. Governor Hochul must stop doing Trump’s bidding and give the public the time they deserve to weigh in.”

“When Williams tried to push this project before, literally thousands of New Yorkers turned out to oppose it,” said Sara Gronim of 350Brooklyn. “They would want to know that they are under threat from NESE again.”

The pipeline would bury 17 miles of fracked gas infrastructure through sensitive coastal ecosystems near Staten Island and the Rockaways, threatening marine life, water quality, and the health of frontline communities. Experts warn that dredging for the pipeline could stir up toxic pollution long buried in the ocean floor — contaminating nearby waters and washing pollution onto New York’s beaches. Advocates say fast-tracking such a massive project, with thousands of pages of technical documents, during a sweltering summer and major holiday period, silences public input and violates the intent of New York’s climate and water protection laws.

“New Yorkers have made it clear: we don’t want more pipelines threatening our coastlines, beaches, and communities just to pad fossil fuel profits,” said Saylor Pochan, Chair Emeritus of Surfrider Foundation NYC. “Governor Hochul can’t claim to protect our ocean while opening the door for the same dirty projects we’ve defeated time and again. She needs to extend the comment period, add in-person hearings and listen to coastal communities who will bear the brunt of this risk.”

“Governor Hochul says she’ll review the thrice-denied Williams NESE pipeline to see if it complies with the law, but she’s already ignored New York’s climate law and let National Grid inflate its numbers without any independent check, paving the way to expand the decrepit Iroquois pipeline and Greenpoint LNG depot while making utility bills skyrocket for unnecessary projects,” said Kim Fraczek, Director of Sane Energy Project. “We’re demanding a comment extension because she hasn’t listened to New Yorkers saying no to risking our communities for corporate profit. If she wants to call herself a climate leader, this is her moment to prove it, or voters won’t forget when she comes asking for their trust again.”

The growing backlash comes amid rising scrutiny of Governor Hochul’s fossil fuel record, including her administration’s approval of the Iroquois pipeline expansion earlier this year. The coalition says that New York must not greenlight another dirty energy project — especially one that Trump himself has championed — without a full and fair review process.

Banner Image: Bear Mountain Bridge on Hudson River. Image Credit – Gerald Berliner