Third Circuit blocks New Jersey water permit for Transco gas pipeline extension
A panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals halted the water quality certification for Transco's proposed gas pipeline that would cross Raritan Bay, citing inadequate environmental review.
A three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the water quality certification granted to Transco for its Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which would run from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, under Raritan Bay to New York City and the Hudson Valley. The court held that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection did not adequately explain how dredging would meet state water standards, especially regarding toxic sediments containing arsenic, mercury and DDT by-products.
Judges Jane R. Roth, Cheryl Ann Krause and Arianna J. Freeman said the agency’s reliance on incomplete monitoring plans was arbitrary and capricious. The decision remands the case, allowing the agency to supplement its analysis, impose additional requirements, or issue a new permit. Transco, a unit of Williams Companies, had been denied permits in 2019 and 2020 before receiving a limited certification in November 2025, which environmental groups promptly challenged.
Why it matters
The ruling forces a stricter review of a major gas pipeline that could affect New Jersey's waterways and set a precedent for environmental oversight.
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