Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project was denied approval on Wednesday by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, which cited concerns over water quality and aquatic life. The plans for NESE included about 23 miles of submarine pipeline off New York City’s coast.
The nearly $1 billion plan to bring natural gas to the northeast U.S. was denied by the authority which said, “Construction of the proposed project would result in significant water quality impacts from the re-suspension of sediments and other contaminants, including mercury and copper.”
The decision comes a week after Washington state Governor Jay Inslee opposed two natural gas projects in his state, and three months after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city would phase out natural gas operations at three power plants.
In a statement, Williams lamented the decision and said it would resubmit an application to obtain the permits “quickly.”
“The Department of Environmental Conservation raised a minor technical issue with our application for water quality certification,” said Chris Stockton, a Williams spokesman.
Natural gas consumption has been growing steadily across the United States, totaling nearly 30,000 billion cubic feet last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The NESE project would have added 0.4 billion cubic feet a day.
It takes one billion cubic feet to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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