For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
ONE LAST CHANCE: COALITION UNITES AGAINST NEW YORK FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINE THREATENING NEW JERSEY
Groups, Bipartisan Elected Leaders, and Citizens Call on Governor Sherrill and the
Tidelands Resource Council to Deny NESE’s Utility License
Atlantic Highlands, NJ – On March 25, 2026, a coalition of elected officials, environmental, fishing, business, and community groups gathered to urge Governor Sherrill and the Tidelands Resource Council to deny the final utility license necessary for the construction of the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, a proposed 23.4-mile offshore methane gas pipeline.
The project would provide no energy to New Jersey while exposing the state to long-term
environmental and public health risks. The proposed pipeline would transport fracked methane gas from Pennsylvania to New York, locking the region into decades of fossil fuel dependence and harming New Jersey’s land, sea, and air in the process.
In May 2025, Williams/Transco renewed permit applications for the project with the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The groups said former NJ Gov. Murphy and NY Gov. Hochul betrayed the environment and public health when they granted major land use and air permits before the Sherrill administration took office. The project now requires a final utility license to begin construction in New Jersey’s tidelands.
Tidelands are state-owned areas covered or inundated by water at high tide. NESE requires a utility license from New Jersey’s Tidelands Resource Council — a state body that holds critical authority over the use and sale of New Jersey’s tidelands. The project includes a 23.4-mile offshore pipeline through Raritan Bay,
which would damage more than 93,000 square feet of critical habitat in the Raritan Bay and the Cheesequake Creek tributary tidelands.
At this stage, a two-step process remains:
1. The Tidelands Resource Council will approve or deny the application following a recommendation from the NJDEP on April 1
2. Governor Mikie Sherrill’s administration must concur with that decision — making this the final opportunity to stop the project before construction can begin.
Environmental advocates, community leaders, and elected officials emphasized the urgency of the situation:
“Republicans, Democrats, Independents, they love this town. They treasure our abundant natural resources and they want to keep it beautiful and safe,” said Councilwoman Kathleen Scatassa of Atlantic Highlands. “The NESE pipeline threatens the vision we have for our community, and it threatens our neighbors as well.”
"20,576,937 clams had to go through depuration,” said Councilwoman Jo-Anne Olszewski, Council President of Highlands. “We can’t handle any more [pollution]. We can barely handle what we already have. And it’s not only the clams. It’s all of the jobs that are connected to the sea beyond clamming. Highlands owes a debt back to the ocean, and so I’m standing here begging for the right things to happen to stop that pipeline.”
“The construction of that Williams pipeline through the Raritan Bay will be a trigger for a potential toxic cocktail for our waterways, marine life, and ecosystem,” said Councilman John Conklin, Council President of Rumson. “Embedded contaminants will be released into the Raritan Bay, which will have long-term ecological and economic ramifications.”
“This project is a monstrosity,” said Councilman Ben Forest of Red Bank. “We are proud, Red Bank, to stand up with our neighbors to fight this awful proposal.”
“For over 30 years, thousands of people have fought to defend the Raritan Bay. Billions of taxpayer dollars were spent to clean up and improve water quality,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. “Today, marine life is thriving. Fish and shellfish feed millions and support the livelihoods of NJ baymen. New Jersey families flock to the Bayshore beaches, and tourism in the region is vibrant. All of this is at risk for an unneeded and politically motivated New York project. NESE is not in NJ’s interest. Governor Sherrill must stand up for New Jersey and say, ‘no deal.’”
"Young people strongly urge Governor Mikie Sherrill to halt the NESE pipeline expansion in its tracks and protect New Jersey’s tidelands for generations to come,” said Virginia Wardell, Policy Director of Climate Revolution Action Network. “The Governor has clear executive authority to deny permits, defend our coastal protections, and stand up to federal overreach from the Trump administration. Young people across this state are counting on her to use that power to protect our future, not allow it to be undermined by more dirty fossil fuels."
“The NESE pipeline is a threat to our water, our communities, and our climate,” said Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “There is no benefit to New Jersey - period. This project would lock us into decades of dirty fossil fuels when we should be moving to cleaner, more affordable energy. We've defeated this project before, and we need citizens to speak up now to tell the Tidelands Resource Council and administration to stop this project for good. This is our final chance to protect New Jersey’s environment and our health before construction begins.”
"The NESE project, a pipeline to nowhere, is a money grab by a for-profit corporation without any benefits to New Jersey,” said Kin Gee, President of CHARGE - Consumers Helping Affect Gas & Electric. “Unfortunately, our clean air and the Raritan Bay will be collateral damage from this corporate greed."
“Williams/Transco’s NESE project is not in the public interest,” said Taylor McFarland, Conservation Program Manager of Sierra Club, NJ Chapter. “The pipeline portion of the project threatens to disturb 23 miles of Raritan Bay seabed, releasing over a million tons of toxic pollutants and endangering our marine ecosystems to supply power to New York. These state-owned tidelands are held in trust for the public, not to be handed over to a private corporation for dirty, unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure that endangers our clean energy future. NESE will undoubtedly negatively impact New Jersey tidelands, and the Sierra Club urges the Council to deny Williams/Transco’s license.”
"Governor Sherrill and the Tidelands Resource Council must do right by the people of New Jersey and reject this dangerous pipeline project because it is simply not in the public's interest,” said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer of Food and Water Watch. “The proposed NESE pipeline brings New Jersey only increased risks, more pollution, and environmental destruction, with no benefits for the people of our state.”
"The League of Women Voters of New Jersey is concerned about public health and our environment. NESE threatens both," said Jesse Burns, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. "For 50 years we’ve been cleaning up Raritan Bay to regain biodiversity, protect coastal wildlife and marshes, buffer sea level rise, and bring back commercial fishing and recreational opportunities. Granting this license would trigger a catastrophe and reverse all our accomplishments."
"Greenlighting the NESE Project would be sacrificing our children's future on the altar of greed,” said Blair Nelsen, Executive Director of Waterspirit. “Water is sacred, and our policies have to be in alignment with our values. Governor Sherrill and the Tidelands Resource Council need to stop this project today.”
“NESE would undercut tidelands and subaquatic habitat in Raritan Bay and along Cheesequake State Park that was acquired and restored for its natural value,” said Greg Remaud, the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper. "Pipeline construction would resuspend toxic metals in the water near the EPA’s Raritan Slag Superfund site and cut though wetlands along Cheesequake Creek. Clearly, the Tidelands Council should deny this permit.”
“After 10 years of opposing Williams/Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project and having it defeated with good reasons… protecting our air and water quality and not making further contributions to the devastations of climate change, we are more than disappointed in former Gov.
Murphy and his NJDEP to permit this project knowing the damage it will cause,” said Linda Powell, Steering Committee Franklin Township Tqask Force Opposing NESE. “We all know this project is not in the public interest, but just in the interest of the greed of the Fossil Fuel Giants.”
The coalition urged Governor Sherrill and the New Jersey Tidelands Resource Council to deny the utility license for the Williams/Transco NESE Project and encouraged residents to act by sharing their comments at the April 1 Tidelands Resource Council meeting.
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About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey.