NY state killed this NYC gas pipeline in 2020. Why is it being exhumed?

When the state of New York killed a New York City pipeline project five years ago, state leaders had just passed a comprehensive new climate law that would phase out fossil fuels and put the Empire State on a path toward a renewable future.

Five years later, New York City is using more fossil fuels than ever, the once-dead pipeline project is back and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which already killed the pipeline once, is now moving through its approval process with uncharacteristic speed.

Policymakers, legislators and clean energy advocates say they smell a rat.

“DEC went through a pretty rigorous permitting process and literally nothing has changed about this project,” said Daniel Zarrilli, former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s chief climate officer. “So it's really awkward for DEC to think about resurrecting a review process and coming to a different conclusion.”

The Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, proposed by energy giant Williams, would bury about 17 miles of 26-inch-diameter, natural gas pipelines 4 feet under the ocean floor near Staten Island and the Rockaways, with around 10 miles of additional pipeline in New Jersey. According to Williams, the new infrastructure will move enough fracked gas from Pennsylvania to serve more than 2 million New York City homes.

Critics said the proposal does not provide the power generation and transmission capacity that the grid needs, and the new infrastructure would cost utility customers roughly $200 million more a year for the next 15 years.

A pipeline exhumed

The NESE pipeline met with strong public opposition when it was first proposed. New York and New Jersey used their power under the federal Clean Water Act to block it, and Williams withdrew its application in 2020. Most thought that was the end of the matter.

Then, President Donald Trump returned to power and adopted a “drill, baby, drill” energy policy.

Now, the same pipeline is back, and comes as New York struggles to comply with its state climate law, which calls for less natural gas, not more.

The pipeline’s revival follows talks between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Trump to resume the Empire offshore wind project, which Trump halted to investigate whether its federal permits were rushed. According to the federal permitting dashboard, the approval process took more than four years. Hochul’s critics say they’re concerned the governor is fast-tracking pipeline approvals as a quid pro quo for resuming the Empire project.

Last month, more than 120 environmental groups sent the Hochul administration a formal request to hold public hearings on the pipeline and extend the comment period from 30 days to at least 120 days. The state responded by extending the public comment deadline by 10 days to Aug. 16 without any public hearings. But environmental groups say that’s not nearly enough time and the rush is raising suspicion about the state’s motives.

”If they don't grant a public hearing, do virtual hearings and don't extend the comment period, that will be a very bad sign that the governor has done a dirty deal with Trump,” said Pete Sikora, campaigns director at NY Communities for Change.

Hochul’s office and the DEC did not respond to specific questions about the project, and state lawmakers say the administration needs to slow down.

“ Certainly something of this magnitude should have a robust public input process,” said state Sen. Peter Harckham, a Democrat who represents Westchester and the Hudson Valley.

What is New York’s climate law?

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or CLCPA, calls for a full energy transition to zero-emission power by 2040 and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 85% by 2050. The law is designed as a comprehensive roadmap for the state to avert a climate catastrophe while operating an optimal and sustainable economy.

Pipelines are not banned outright under the law, advocates and experts said that expanding fossil fuel infrastructure is contrary to the CLCPA, which requires New York to run on 70% renewable energy sources by the end of this decade.

But according to the state’s own energy policy agency, there’s no way New York is meeting those benchmarks. The 15-year draft energy plan released last month for public comment by the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, or NYSERDA, concedes the state will continue to rely on natural gas and calls for investment in fossil-fuel infrastructure. Since the Indian Point nuclear plant's closure in 2021, New York City’s grid has been powered by more than 90% fossil fuels, according to the NYC Comptroller’s climate dashboard.

National Grid, the global utility behemoth that provides heating and cooking gas to parts of New York City, says the pipeline will boost the supply of natural gas by 13% to meet current and growing energy demands,” according to a statement by Sally Librera, president of National Grid New York.

The utility cited growing demand for heat during cold winter snaps, which amount to a couple of days per year. According to the state grid operator’s report for this past winter, which was colder than expected, it still fell short of hitting forecasted peaks for the season.

That’s led some experts to question whether the justification for the pipeline is even valid.

”It's not helping us overcome the transmission constraints from upstate and bringing more of the clean power that's upstate into the city,” said Zarrilli. “It's not directly creating any new electricity on our grid.”

Suzanne Mattei, an energy policy analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said there are other ways to manage demand than pumping more natural gas into the system. She said that energy efficiency measures such as insulation, thermostats and energy saver appliances go a long way in reducing demand when widely adopted.

While adding more offshore wind projects may be off the table for now, experts have also pointed to alternatives such as battery storage, increasing solar and geothermal energy.

”The fundamental problem we've got in the region is that we haven't been building out other renewable sources fast enough,” Zarrilli said. “We're going to continue to build out this [fossil fuel] infrastructure that continues to make it harder to make the renewable energy pencil out economically, and we're just continuing to just pile up this problem worse and worse.”

The state climate law also calls for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 85% by 2050. Pipelines that commonly leak methane will contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. A recent Johns Hopkins study revealed that the emissions from pipeline leaks are about four times more than the EPA estimates.

“When greenhouse gas emissions are calculated, it usually ignores the leakage through the supply chain of that natural gas, and these pipelines definitely leak,” Zarrilli said. “National Grid runs trucks around the city looking for leaks because it’s a pretty common outcome of having a pipeline.”

Williams’ proposal states that increased supply via new pipelines will result in cheaper natural gas for customers. National Grid, in a statement to Gothamist, wrote that New York City residents will save $2.75 billion over the next 15 years as a result of the NESE pipeline.

Mattei and other experts said that ratepayers will see bigger bills. According to a 2020 estimate prepared by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the project will cost more than $1 billion. Mattei said the estimate is outdated and will likely double in cost. Energy customers will collectively pay about $200 million annually over the next 15 years, past the retirement deadline for fossil fuel infrastructure. Mattei, who performed the analysis, said those estimates are now outdated and suggested the project could cost twice as much.

”The downstate residents who are footing the bill for the pipeline, they're not going to realize any benefit,” Mattei said.

The Public Service Commission will have to approve any rate hikes to pay for the new pipelines, which means National Grid will have to justify its need.

Pipeline construction will require dredging and excavating, which will contaminate the waters. The ocean floor has sediment polluted with mercury, copper, lead, PCBs and other toxic contaminants. Digging up the ocean floor will resuspend these pollutants. The activities would also disturb shellfish beds and other marine life that live on the ocean bottom.

Williams plans to begin work by the end of the year to put pipelines in service by winter 2027.

“ We are walking backwards,” Harckham said. “The way to drive affordability is through renewables, because the math shows a kilowatt of clean energy is far cheaper than a kilowatt of carbon base or nuclear energy.”