Federal Court Rejects NJ's Approval of Natural Gas Pipeline Under Raritan Bay

September 11, 2026 | patch.com

A proposed natural gas pipeline that would run for 23 miles under Raritan Bay suffered a major blow this week, when a federal appeals court voided a permit the project had previously received from the state of New Jersey.

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Politics and environmentalism play a significant role in cases such as those dealing with pipelines. The current NESE case is no exception. Prior to the Trump Administration reopening fossil fuel development and the Murphy Admiration’s approval of the NESE pipeline, it had been rejected multiple times. The latest rejection by a three-judge Third Circuit Court consisting of one judge appointed by Obama and two by Biden. The proposed route for the pipeline would result in a great amount of disturbance to the floor of the bay causing sediment, possibly toxic sediment, to impact water quality from Sayreville to Seabright. The pipeline would provide electricity for New Yorkers and polluted water for New Jersey. The proposal is not dead; it goes back to the NJDEP for further review.