For the fourth time in five years, New York is being asked to approve a dangerous and unnecessary fossil fuel project: the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has already denied this pipeline three times on environmental grounds. Now, pipeline developers are back, using an expired federal permit and recycled application to push a project that still threatens our water, our air, and our future.

We call on the DEC and Governor Kathy Hochul to reject the NESE pipeline once and for all.

This 23-mile gas pipeline would run beneath New York Harbor, disturbing toxic sediments like mercury, copper, and arsenic. It threatens marine life, local fisheries, and endangered species. It also flies in the face of New York’s climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandates a zero-emission electric grid by 2040.

NESE is not about meeting real energy needs. It is about corporate profit. National Grid wants to lock in 15-year gas supply contracts that would pass billions in pipeline construction costs onto New Yorkers. Independent analysis shows the average gas customer could see their monthly bills rise by over 3 percent, with no permanent jobs created in New York and long-term environmental costs left to future generations.

This project was previously denied for good reason. Nothing about it has changed. If anything, the climate crisis has only deepened, and the urgency of transitioning to clean energy has grown.

Governor Hochul has pledged to lead on climate. The DEC has a clear legal basis to reject NESE under the Clean Water Act and New York’s own climate goals. We urge you to act now and issue a fourth denial.

Say no to fracked gas. Say no to billion-dollar rate hikes. Say no to toxic dredging in our waters.

Tell the DEC to protect our kids, our climate, and our coast. Reject NESE again.