NESE Pipeline Project Breaks Ground

The Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline project is underway. On Monday, April 13, federal officials including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI) Doug Burgum, and U.S. Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) Chris Wright participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the pipeline at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

The Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project includes the construction, installation, and operation of a new 26-inch diameter pipeline to 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. The overall project involves the installation of approximately 23.5 miles of new underwater pipeline, and approximately 17.4 miles of new pipeline will be installed within New York State waters. The NESE Project is designed to provide approximately 400,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm natural gas transportation service to National Grid to serve existing customers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. The new pipeline would connect to the existing Rockaway Delivery Lateral pipeline that runs under Floyd Bennett Field and Riis Park, and it is intended to support reliability and help displace the use of oil.

The NESE Project will be installed a minimum of four feet below the sea floor through a combination of jet trenching, clamshell dredging, backfilling, and horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Construction is proposed in a manner that will minimize impairment of the best usages of the waters, but mitigation will be required for unavoidable impacts to marine resources.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) had previously denied Williams Companies Transco’s applications for the pipeline in 2019 and 2020 after determining that the project was likely to harm water quality in violation of state standards. However, in November 2025, NYSDEC approved a similar application for the project. NRDC and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the approval, which is proceeding in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Briefing will be complete in April 2026, with argument expected before the end of June 2026.

However, on Monday, with some protestors outside of Floyd Bennett Field holding signs in protest, federal officials ceremoniously broke ground to start the project. Williams’ Transco pipeline system across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York is expected to serve the equivalent of 2.3 million homes. NESE remains on track to be in service by the fourth quarter of 2027.

“Breaking ground on the NESE pipeline marks a massive milestone for millions of New Yorkers seeking access to reliable, affordable natural gas. Delivering natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York City and Long Island will lower costs while helping to meet the growing energy demand of this region,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “I, like so many New Yorkers, am extremely grateful for President Trump’s leadership, along with his National Energy Dominance Council, for getting the permits necessary to allow this project to advance. We celebrate this incredible accomplishment and will continue pursuing every way possible to make life more affordable for all Americans.”

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, “This project alone is expected to lower electricity bills by $6 billion over the next 15 years and stimulate up to $1.8 billion in economic development. That’s a huge win for American families!”

“When government, labor, and industry pull in the same direction, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish, and NESE is a $1 billion direct investment in the American worker,” Williams Companies CEO Chad Zamarin said.