As Mayor of Franklin Township, my single highest duty is protecting the health, safety and quality of life of the people who call our community home. For years, our residents in Central Jersey have been forced to fight against a dangerous, completely unnecessary fossil fuel project: Williams Transco’s Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline.
Following a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit striking down the state permit for this project, Governor Mikie Sherrill has a historic opportunity before her. She can stand up for Central Jersey, reject corporate polluter greed and permanently put this dangerous pipeline to bed.
The NESE pipeline is not an abstract political debate — it poses an immediate, physical threat right here in Franklin Township. Under Transco’s plan, our town was chosen to host a massive new industrial facility known as Compressor Station 206.
A compressor station uses heavy industrial turbines to pressurize natural gas so it can move through interstate pipelines at high speeds. Placing such a facility in a suburban residential community is reckless on its face, but the specific location selected in Franklin Township defies all common sense.
Transco chose to site Compressor Station 206 directly adjacent to an active quarry that regularly uses high-yield explosive ordnance for rock blasting. Combining a high-pressure, flammable natural gas compressor facility with active industrial blasting is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
A single mistake or shockwave could trigger a devastating explosion, putting local families and emergency first responders in immediate danger. It is a horrible idea that should have been rejected the moment it was proposed.
Beyond the constant threat of an industrial accident, Compressor Station 206 represents a daily public health hazard. When fully operational, the station would spew massive quantities of toxic air pollution into our surrounding neighborhoods — producing, based on equivalent horse power, an amount of harmful emissions comparable to a B-52 bomber during takeoff.
These toxic releases contain particulate matter and chemical pollutants that exacerbate asthma, trigger heart conditions and harm the health of our children, seniors and local workforce. Central Jersey’s air quality cannot sustain another massive source of industrial pollution.
What makes this threat even more infuriating is that New Jersey would receive absolutely zero benefit from this project. The NESE pipeline is designed to carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania through Somerset and Middlesex counties and beneath the Raritan Bay to out-of-state markets in New York. New Jersey consumers will not receive a single cubic foot of this gas.
Instead, working families in Franklin Township and across our region are being forced to shoulder all of the health risks, safety threats and environmental damage so an Oklahoma-based energy giant can enrich its shareholders.
Former Governor Phil Murphy made a grave mistake when his administration caved to pressure from Donald Trump and approved this expensive project. Trump resurrected this dead pipeline to advance his extreme fossil fuel agenda and reward billionaire oil and gas executives.
But the unanimous federal appeals court was right to strike down the permit, confirming what local communities have argued for years: This plan is bad for New Jersey and doesn’t pass muster.
The Third Circuit decision gives New Jersey a clean slate. As Williams Transco prepares to submit new permit applications, Governor Sherrill has a clear path to deliver a defining win for public safety, clean air and environmental leadership.
By directing the Department of Environmental Protection to reject any renewed attempts to permit the NESE pipeline, Governor Sherrill can protect the health, safety and economic vitality of Central Jersey and ensure our state remains a national leader in clean, affordable energy.
Phil Kramer is the Mayor of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey.
