Staten Island, NY — Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella has formally urged the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to reject the proposed Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline. In a letter submitted during the agency’s review, Fossella warned that the pipeline would endanger Staten Island’s coastline while providing no benefit to its residents.

In his letter to DEC, Borough President Fossella warned that Staten Islanders “will bear all the risks and burdens while receiving no benefits” from the pipeline, while still being forced to pay a 3.5% increase in utility bills. Fossella also raised concerns that construction would disturb contaminated sediment and damage fragile fish and shellfish populations in Raritan Bay. Fossella further pointed to Staten Island’s long history of being treated as the “default” destination for unwanted projects.

The Williams NESE pipeline — a project repeatedly rejected in prior years — has been revived under pressure from the Trump administration. Governor Hochul’s administration has seemingly fastracked the pipeline’s permit applications, providing no public hearings despite fierce community opposition and widespread warnings that it would increase energy costs and lock New York into decades of fossil fuel dependence.

“Borough President Fossella’s opposition makes it crystal clear: pipelines are wildly unpopular on both sides of the political spectrum because of their high costs and threats to local water and communities,” said Laura Shindell, New York State Director at Food & Water Watch. “With Republicans and Democrats united against the pipeline, Governor Hochul should realize there’s no political upside to approving it. It would hike bills, poison Raritan Bay, and violate New York’s climate law. Staten Islanders deserve clean water and affordable energy, not another costly and unnecessary pipeline project.”

Background:

• The NESE pipeline would extend through Raritan Bay off Staten Island’s eastern shore.
• National Grid has acknowledged the project would raise New Yorkers’ gas bills by 3.5%.
• New York previously denied the pipeline multiple times for failing to meet water quality and climate standards.