Pipeline advancement riles Somos progressives

Many New York politicos have spent the last two days in Puerto Rico for the annual Somos conference, but back in the state, a new decision to advance a controversial pipeline had many attendees fuming. 

The state Department of Environmental Conservation on Friday approved the Northeast Supply Enhancement – or NESE – project, issuing the necessary permits for it to advance. For years, the pipeline appeared to be dead after the DEC thrice rejected applications for water quality permits. Williams, the company behind the pipeline, finally called it quits last year, only to rekindle their efforts after President Donald Trump signaled support for its other project, the Constitution Pipeline.

While Constitution received the most attention, NESE got fringe benefits from the conversation. Reporting at the time suggested that Trump and Gov. Kathy Hochul had reached some sort of agreement to allow the pipelines to move forward in exchange for the federal government backing off its attacks on congestion pricing. Those reports sparked immediate backlash from environmental groups, which have long opposed new or expanded fossil fuel transmission projects.

Lt. Gov. Antontio Delgado, who is challenging Hochul for her seat, joined state lawmakers in Puerto Rico to criticize the DEC’s new decision. An impassioned Delgado charged that the only thing that changed since the last rejection by the state was politics and Trump’s presence in the White House. “We have the boldest climate law in the country, and yet we have a governor who seems far too willing to capitulate and bend the knee to somebody she says we shouldn't treat like a king,” Delgado said.

The NESE project would impact downstate, extending an existing pipeline into New York City. Critics sayit would increase costs for ratepayers in the boroughs and undermine the state’s ambitious climate goals. “When Donald Trump says ‘jump,’ (Hochul) says ‘how high?’” said democratic socialist state Sen. Jabari Brisport. “She’s unfit to lead this movement, and she's unfit to lead this state.” Brisport, like the other progressive and socialist officials who attended the press conference, have not yet weighed in on the gubernatorial primary.

Hochul denied that Trump played any role in the state’s advancement of NESE. “Obviously not, no,” she told City & State at Somos. “The one he really wanted, I turned down – I don’t give a shit.” At the same time that the DEC approved permits for NESE, the agency said Williams withdrew its application for the Constitution Pipeline after failing to provide all the information necessary for a complete submission. 

The governor defended the need for the pipeline as the state faces an impending energy crisis, especially with the federal government kneecapping clean energy projects. “I said that we'll consider all projects and ensure that it meets all of our state laws, and so this project did,” Hochul said. She said that she would like to see more opportunities for a wide range of clean energy projects, but in the meantime, she cannot let the state’s grid fail. “I have said I need an ‘all the above’ approach, because I have to make sure the lights stay on and heat stays on for people in the wintertime,” she said.

As for bending the knee to Trump, Hochul seemed to repudiate the idea while speaking to attendees of her closed-press Somos reception. “You know who's in charge of our National Guard?” Hochul asked, according to a partygoer, in reference to Trump’s promise to deploy the military force in New York. “I am!”