One natural gas transport plan killed in New Jersey as another forges ahead

abcnews.go.com:

A major pipeline that would have moved natural gas through New Jersey and under two bays to New York has been killed

KEYPORT, N.J. — A major pipeline that would have moved natural gas through New Jersey and under two bays to New York has been killed, but another plan to transport liquefied gas from Pennsylvania by tanker truck is moving forward.

Environmentalists who had fought both projects reacted Monday to the mixed bag they were handed on Friday when the two proposals took differing pathways with federal regulators.

That was the day that Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams Companies, which owns a nearly 10,000-mile (16,000-kilometer) expanse of pipelines called Transco, allowed its Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline project to end. Williams told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission it was allowing a key construction application to expire, saying it would not seek an extension for it.

The decision heartened a wide group of environmental and community groups who had fought the proposal for eight years, saying it would further the burning of fossil fuels and contribute to climate change, while also degrading air and water quality and creating safety concerns in communities along its route.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, called the development «an extraordinary victory, a David and Goliath moment.»

Using the project's acronym, she said, “NESE has gasped its last gassy breath. It means the project has died, and we won!”

In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, Williams confirmed it is no longer pursuing a certificate from the federal agency that would allow it to continue the project.

“While Williams continues to believe in the fundamentals of the Northeast Supply Enhancement project and