The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a key New Jersey water permit for U.S. energy company Williams Cos' long-delayed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania, New Jersey
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a key New Jersey water permit for U.S. energy company Williams Cos' long-delayed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas pipeline project in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
The court said in a ruling on Tuesday that it granted petitions by environmental groups, vacated the Water Quality Certification and remanded the case to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
“Following the Third Circuit's decision, we are working promptly with state regulatory officials to address the court's findings and remain committed to advancing the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project," Cherice Corley, a spokesperson at Williams, told Reuters in an email.
"At this time, we do not expect the decision to adversely affect project construction or the anticipated in-service timeline," Corley said.
A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit last November against the NJDEP for unjustifiably approving the certification for NESE, after first rejecting the project in 2019 for failure to demonstrate compliance with state water quality standards.
“When the water quality certificate was denied in 2019, that should have been the end of it," said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer at Food & Water Watch, one of the environmental groups
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