Mark Ruffalo + Experts Explain Why Agency Already Rejected Pipelines as Gov Says She'll Defer to DEC

NEW YORK, NY (09/17/2025) (readMedia)-- Gov. Hochul has repeatedly claimed that two dangerous fracked gas pipelines that she is rushing forward at Trump's direction will be "reviewed impartially" by the Department of Environmental Conservation. In response, top legal and water quality experts held a press conference exposing why the state previously denied the pipelines and how there is no legitimate rationale for changing that position.

Watch a recording of the press conference.

The governor has been under intense pressure to deny the two pipelines Trump is pushing - the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) and Constitution pipelines - and has been repeatedly deflecting responsibility by claiming they will be reviewed and decided by state agencies. Yet she is rushing the processes (as pointed out yesterday by Senators Liz Krueger and Pete Harckham, along with Assembly Member Deborah Glick), her PSC is set to endorse a faulty reliability premise based on outdated data, and she has hardly denied a deal and committed to working with Trump. The pipelines have garnered widespread opposition from hundreds of elected officials, advocates, health professionals, and even her own allies in Congress.

Liz Moran, Earthjustice's New York Policy Advocate, said, "The bottom line is that the state previously rejected the NESE pipeline. Nothing has changed except that Trump is pushing for it. The application is exactly the same as what the state reviewed last time. It leads us to the key question: how would the Governor and DEC possibly justify a different position now?"

"I have a message for Governor Hochul: Look around you at other Governors standing up to Trump and how he backs off every time they stand their ground. New Yorkers are looking for you to back up your tough talk with action. Don't be a patsy. Be the tough governor that you say you are. Do not cave to Trump and give him a fracked gas pipeline that the state does not need, that New Yorkers will have to pay over a billion dollars for out of our pockets, and that will pollute our most valuable natural resource - our water," said actor and long-time New York environmental activist Mark Ruffalo.

Mark Izeman, Senior Attorney for Environmental Health at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), said, "Previously, National Grid submitted a long-term gas plan to the PSC that did not include building the NESE pipeline. But after President Trump announced his interest in this pipeline and had a call with Governor Hochul earlier this year, National Grid changed its tune and said, in effect, wait and minute, we do need this pipeline to meet gas demands. And they then rushed to produce an "addendum" to their 2024 plan that included the pipeline, which they justified by using old 2024 numbers – which again, the PSC's own consultants said were overstated. But to put it plainly: the NESE pipeline is not needed to meet any gas demands downstate. In fact, as NRDC has documented in recent detailed comments – along with other stakeholders – forecasts show a sharply declining demand since the original 2024 National Grid plan. The new and more accurate 2025 forecast shows that need, if any, doesn't come until 2042/43. Additionally, if built, the NESE would lock customers into decades of costs for 2024's discredited forecast rather than today's evidence of modest growth in gas use. And that cost is higher than investing in cleaner alternatives, so anathema to the Governor's purported focus on making life more affordable for New Yorkers"

Background:

After meeting with President Trump this Spring, Governor Hochul reportedly agreed to fast-track two long-dead pipeline proposals: the Williams NESE pipeline, which would run through the New York Harbor and into Far Rockaway; and the Constitution pipeline, which would run across 125 miles of the Southern Tier and into the Albany area. The White House has since claimed Hochul "caved" on the pipelines in exchange for allowing a wind project in New York State to continue, while the Governor has hardly denied a deal and committed to working with Trump.

The NESE application is the same one that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) repeatedly denied. It poses the exact same environmental threats to New York's waterways. The NESE pipeline would stir up toxic contaminants in the New York Harbor that harm critical fisheries and other wildlife habitats.

As proposed last time around - before it was forced by the Court to abandon its effort - the Constitution pipeline would threaten more than 250 waterways throughout Upstate New York, endangering sensitive habitats and wildlife populations that depend on healthy ecosystems.,

These pipelines would also force regular New Yorkers to pay billions to expand fossil fuel infrastructure that is increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. The Williams NESE pipeline alone will cost more than $1.3 billion, forcing ratepayers to pay $200 million every year for more than a decade on construction. While energy companies promise it will eventually decrease costs, National Grid estimates its New York City and Long Island customers would see a 3.5% increase in costs to pay for construction - adding to repeated rate hikes already making energy unaffordable for most New Yorkers. In addition to direct construction costs, the pipelines would also jeopardize hundreds of millions in local economic activity, tourism, fishing and other small businesses that rely on healthy local ecosystems.

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