Fourth time\u2019s the charm?<\/p>\n
A gas pipeline New York rejected three times in less than a decade is back in front of the state for consideration.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s part of a deal<\/a> Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Trump administration reportedly struck in order to save an offshore wind project<\/a> under construction off the coast of Long Island.<\/p>\n The Northeast Supply Enhancement natural gas pipeline, proposed by the Oklahoma-based Williams Companies, would snake from Pennsylvania to just off the coast of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, with about 17 miles buried in New York waters, including in Raritan Bay, east of Staten Island. The pipeline, which the company said could be in service by the end of 2027, would connect to a larger network that begins in Texas.<\/p>\n A federal commission last week gave the pipeline the greenlight to move forward. Now \u2014 after thrice denying the pipeline for its water quality permits in 2018, 2019 and again in 2020, all when Andrew Cuomo was New York\u2019s governor \u2014 the Department of Environmental Conservation will again weigh whether the project would still violate state water quality standards.<\/p>\n National Grid is supporting the pipeline, and in July revised a plan it had submitted to the state about the future of the gas system to include the pipeline. The company \u2014 and several of its business-related allies<\/a> \u2014 say boosting gas to the city will increase reliability for customers in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. As gas generates over 70% of New York City\u2019s electricity, the state grid operator has warned<\/a> that any gas supply constraints may threaten the energy system, especially in the winter.<\/p>\n Williams estimates the pipeline would cost over $1 billion to build. But it would charge National Grid for the gas the pipeline would deliver \u2014 charges National Grid could pass along to its customers.<\/p>\n In a statement, a National Grid spokesperson pointed out the new gas supply would free up \u201cother gas supplies for customers and generators in Staten Island.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But environmental groups that thought they\u2019d defeated the pipeline project years ago are raising red flags.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that this pipeline is even being considered is alarming,\u201d said Kim Fraczek, director of Sane Energy Project. \u201cWhy should the gas customers have to pay for a pipeline we don\u2019t need?\u201d<\/p>\n DEC has until November to decide on the pipeline\u2019s water quality permit.<\/p>\n In a statement, DEC spokesperson Jeff Wernick said the agency \u201cis committed to protecting public health and the environment and subjects all permit applications to a rigorous review process.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2020, DEC denied<\/a> the permit on the basis that the pipeline\u2019s construction would kick up contaminants like copper and mercury in the ocean sediments and harm marine habitats.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re asking DEC to do a complete about-face and the only thing that\u2019s changed is the political environment,\u201d said Susan Kraham, a managing attorney at EarthJustice. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing different in the substance of this application that shows that this project is any more likely to comply with the water quality standards than it was the last time around.\u201d<\/p>\n DEC in 2020 also said the new gas pipeline would entrench reliance on fossil fuel, running against the state\u2019s climate law that mandates a transition towards renewable energy. Under the law, known as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the state must get its electricity from zero-emissions sources by 2040.<\/p>\n Though DEC under Hochul has rejected some gas projects<\/a> by citing the climate law, it has approved others<\/a>. Hochul has also said<\/a> the state is \u201cslowing things down\u201d when it comes to making progress on the climate law.<\/p>\n On Labor Day, Hochul issued<\/a> a statement with four other Democratic governors urging Trump to allow all already-granted offshore wind permits to move forward amid his moves to scuttle those projects. The governors said they\u2019d want to ensure a reliable grid with a \u201cdiverse mix of resources,\u201d including natural gas.<\/p>\n National Grid argued in documents<\/a> filed to the state Department of Public Service that the pipeline could help move homeowners from oil heating to gas heating and avoid costs \u2014 and harmful emissions \u2014 associated with trucking compressed natural gas into the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n The utility company projects that the pipeline would actually lower New Yorkers\u2019 utility costs, increasing gas bills by about $7.61 per month \u2014 with estimates of $3 billion over 15 years<\/a> \u2014 while electricity bills would decrease by twice as much because of the increased supply of gas to electricity generators.<\/p>\n The pipeline project\u2019s potential resurrection comes as New York and the United States are both more open to welcoming fossil fuel infrastructure. On the day he took office, President Donald Trump issued executive<\/a> orders<\/a> meant to promote the production of fossil fuel energy.<\/p>\n Gothamist reported<\/a> talks between the Hochul and Trump administrations that mentioned gas pipelines in New York came up as early as March, as the governor appealed to the feds not to block congestion pricing. The following month, the Trump administration issued a stop-work order<\/a> for the in-progress Empire Wind 1, New York\u2019s first major offshore wind project.<\/p>\n By late May, the feds lifted the order, allowing the project to resume. Hochul took credit for the move, saying she would work with the Trump administration on \u201cnew energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.\u201d Doug Burgum, secretary of the Interior, said<\/a> he was \u201cencouraged\u201d by Hochul\u2019s \u201ccomments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after the stop-work order on the wind project was lifted, Williams filed applications for the pipeline with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New York DEC.<\/p>\n The White House told E&E News<\/a> Hochul \u201ccaved\u201d to the president and said she\u2019d let two natural gas pipelines move forward in New York. The offshore wind project developer also cited<\/a> a deal reached between New York and the Trump administration involving gas pipelines.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only commitment the governor made is to work with everyone, including the Trump administration, on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law,\u201d said Ken Lovett, a spokesperson for Hochul. \u201cThe governor is laser-focused on an all-of-the-above approach that will keep the lights on for New Yorkers while also prioritizing affordability and strong economic development. She has made it clear that all proposed projects must be reviewed impartially by the required agencies to determine compliance with state and federal laws.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fourth time\u2019s the charm? A gas pipeline New York rejected three times in less than a decade is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":201526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-201525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115150124771891616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}