September 24, 2025 is the deadline to submit a public comment to NJDEP regarding the Williams fracked gas Pipeline project, which would cut a wide swath of destruction through our Lower Raritan Watershed and Raritan Bay. See the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA) report on the proposed project here. See the LRWP’s letter to NJDEP stating opposition to this project below.

Dear Governor Murphy and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection –

I am writing on behalf of the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership (LRWP) regarding Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline project. The LRWP is opposed to construction of a fracked gas-powered compressor station in Franklin Township, including 3.5 miles of connecting pipeline through a portion of the Lower Raritan Watershed (New Jersey Watershed Management Area 9) in Old Bridge Township. The LRWP is also opposed to a core component of this project, the proposed 23.4-mile-long, 26-inch-diameter pipeline loop (called the “Raritan Bay Loop”) extending from the Middlesex County coast crossing under Raritan Bay and New Jersey and New York State marine waters.

The LRWP formed in 2015 to address industrial pollutants that left a legacy of contamination in the Raritan River and the Lower Raritan Watershed. Our Lower Raritan Watershed communities have worked hard to restore landscapes destroyed by decades of industrial dumping and toxic pollution. Many of these areas are now thriving, and others are natural Heritage sites, part of the NY/NJ Harbor and Estuary, which provide habitat for federally threatened and/or endangered species.

The LRWP’s most specific concern is with the project’s impact to the marine ecosystem, including the benthic habitat of Raritan Bay. Estimates indicate that as many as 14,100 acres of Raritan Bay may be impacted, with potential serious adverse impact on the Bay’s fisheries. These fisheries include many species of anadromous fish with established spawning grounds in the up-stream Raritan River area, and vulnerable populations of horseshoe crabs, sea turtles, and many other marine mammals.

The LRWP respectfully requests that NJDEP deny permits for the NESE Pipeline project that would result in significant environmental degradation of our Lower Raritan Watershed and Raritan Bay.

Heather Fenyk, Ph.D., AICP/PP

Board President, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership