By Food and Water Watch

Trenton, NJ – Today, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) grant of a water quality certification for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) pipeline and sent it back to the DEP. The water quality certification is a key approval that the project needs to proceed. This victory comes after a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit last November against the DEP for unjustifiably approving the certification for NESE, after it first rejected the project in 2019 for failing to demonstrate compliance with state water quality standards.

“For years, the people of New Jersey have fought this dirty, dangerous, and unnecessary pipeline project.  When the water quality certificate was denied in 2019, that should have been the end of it.  But in the final months of the Murphy administration, the NJDEP rushed to grant critical approval through a flawed process.  We are pleased to see the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed this bad decision by NJDEP, and those of us fighting for clean air, clean water, and a livable climate will continue to oppose this dirty gas pipeline until we win once and for all,” said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer at Food & Water Watch.

The DEP improperly left essential monitoring and management requirements unresolved and failed to adequately explain how the project would comply with New Jersey’s water quality standards.