Anti-NESE Advocates Condemn DEP Action to Move Forward with Dangerous Pipeline

Members of the New Jersey Stop NESE Coalition have issued the following statements in response to a decision by the New Jersey DEP to approve air permits for Wiliams Transco’s NESE pipeline project.

“By approving air permits for the NESE pipeline—after quietly authorizing its water permits in November—the New Jersey DEP has effectively given this unnecessary and dangerous fossil fuel project the green light. This decision flies in the face of science, public opposition, and the DEP’s own 2020 determination that the project failed to meet New Jersey’s environmental standards. Nothing has changed since then except the urgency of the climate crisis,” said Jesse Sutherland, Policy and Politics Director, New Jersey LCV. “At a moment when New Jersey should be accelerating a transition to clean energy and protecting overburdened communities from more pollution, the Murphy Administration is choosing to side with fossil fuel CEOs. New Jersey families deserve clean air, clean water, and leadership that puts people and the planet first—not another giveaway to the fossil fuel industry."

“We are deeply appalled that the Williams/Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement compressor station has been granted an air permit despite years of documented concerns about breathable air, drinkable water, and ecological sanity. This permit approval does not erase the NESE project's risks—it merely puts air, water, and people in harm's way. Our lives, and the health of the ecosystems we depend on, are at stake. We have a moral and spiritual duty to protect air, water, and people, and there is no way to do that if the NESE project continues to move forward. Waterspirit will continue to oppose this project at every opportunity,” said Blair Nelsen, Executive Director, Waterspirit

 "NJDEP's issuance of air quality permits for the NESE project completely ignores the tremendous impact on the health of the over 5,000 residents who are within one and a half miles from the proposed Compressor Station #206. Our community is within 1/2 mile from the Compressor Station and has over 700 residents who will have to breathe the toxins produced by the Compressor.  This approval flies in the face of our State's commitment and NJDEP charge to protect our environment, especially the air that we have to breathe 24/7 hours per day,” said Ronald Waetzman, Princeton Manor HOA.

"The approval of this permit is more proof that the DEP and Governor Murphy have chosen to appease political pressure over protecting their constituents from this massive fossil fuel project,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director, Clean Ocean Action. “This permit is incomplete, deeply flawed, and should have never been approved. New Jersey residents deserve better from their Governor and the DEP."

“This permit locks in new fossil fuel pollution for years to come, as young people are being told to accept a future defined by climate instability,” said Ben Dziobek, Executive Director of the Climate Revolution Action Network. “New Jersey has approved new gas turbines designed to run for decades, emitting methane, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and other hazardous air pollutants long after today’s decision-makers are gone. Young people will live with the air pollution, the climate impacts, and the long-term costs of this infrastructure. That is the choice being made here.”

"It is appalling that the Air Permit would be approved for such a large natural-gas powered compressor station, with its attendant pollution, for installation in an area where there are so many residences, families, schools, etc. nearby, and where it poses a perilous safety threat to those communities," said Kevin Corcoran, President, Central Jersey Safe Energy Coalition, Inc.

“The granting of the air permit for Gas Compressor Station 206 by the NJDEP is very disappointing! This is a devastating blow to our health, climate, and environment, which the NJDEP should be protecting, not allowing its destruction! Pushing the NESE Project through without correcting what was specified as wrong with this project is not right as well! If the 206 compressor must be built, the least the NJDEP could do is provide proper oversight to be certain the necessary pollution controls are in place, up to date, and functional,” said Diane Heyer, South Brunswick resident.

"For more than nine and a half years, we have worked to stop the unnecessary NESE project. After multiple rejections based on its clear environmental and health harms, we are deeply disappointed and dismayed that the NJDEP has now fast‑tracked approval of Williams‑Transco’s permits and is allowing construction to proceed,” said the Steering Committee of the Franklin Township Task Force on NESE. “The Compressor Station in Franklin is slated to begin construction later this year. The NJDEP’s actions suggest little concern for the environmental damage or public‑health risks this project will impose on New Jersey communities. We had hoped the agency would defend the health and wellbeing of our residents rather than yielding to pressure from the Federal Government and the fossil‑fuel industry. The public is being misled into believing this project will lower energy costs, which is simply untrue. The gas is not intended for New Jersey. What we receive are the pollutants, not the benefits.

“It was disgraceful how Governor Murphy and his DEP handled this permit process, stifling the voices of senior citizens and other impacted residents along the pipeline route.  Murphy knows that granting air pollution permits for a dirty and destructive pipeline project like NESE only puts his own climate goals further out of reach.  And by following Trump’s lead and fast-tracking NESE, his administration will be responsible for bringing more pollution, more noise, and more negative health impacts to Central Jersey, as well as serious risks of fires and explosions, without any tangible benefits for the people who he was elected to represent,” said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer, Food & Water Watch.

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