Activists and pols ramp up opposition to Williams pipeline as early approvals come

Activists opposing the Williams pipeline continued to call on the state to reject the project, and were recently joined by Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

The Williams Pipeline, which would run just a few miles off the coast of Queens, received an approval from a federal regulatory commission last week and is one stop closer to being built.

But as it inches closer to reality, local activists, joined by some prominent elected officials including Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani, are stepping up their opposition to the pipeline, and hope to stop it from clearing the last hurdle – approval from the state.

The pipeline, which has already been rejected by the State Department of Environmental Conservation three times in the last several years, is a proposed 23.5 mile underwater pipeline – 17.4 miles of which would be in New York State waters – that would be constructed off the coast of Queens’ Rockaway peninsula, and would connect with energy company Williams Transco’s wider network of gas pipelines.

Last week, it was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a green light that activists, who say the pipeline would bring environmental risks, had expected. However, the real fight is before the DEC, and ultimately Governor Kathy Hochul.

“This is not a hard ask, it is not a hard decision,” said activist Isaac Silberman-Gorn in front of the DEC’s city headquarters on Wednesday. “The DEC has already rejected these pipelines due to the significant threats that they pose to our water. The pipeline proposals have the same meaning. They pose the same dangers. The only reason these pipelines have resurfaced is because [President Donald] Trump and the gas industry are trying to bully Governor Hochul.”

Activists have grown concerned in recent months after reports indicated that Hochul had made a deal with the Trump administration, trading federal approval for offshore wind projects for state approval of the pipeline. Hochul has repeatedly denied that a deal was made.

But as the deadline for approval draws closer, the pipelines opponents, including Mamdani, have more loudly and regularly been demanding Hochul reject the plan.

"I've opposed the construction of natural gas pipelines and continue to oppose them, and that includes the Williams NESE pipeline,” Mamdani said. “I think right now what we need desperately is the rapid investment in clean energy across the country, and that is the exact opposite approach of what we're seeing, especially coming out of Washington, D.C. where the Trump administration has canceled nearly $700 million in federal funds for offshore wind projects."

The DEC is expected to make a decision on the pipeline in the coming weeks.