EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin bashed “overreach” and “climate zealots” for blocking a pipeline in New York and called for its construction to begin in order to secure New England’s grid stability.
In an op-ed published Monday in The Boston Globe, the agency administrator placed blame on Democratic former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and other lawmakers for impeding the project.
The Constitution pipeline, a project by the Northeast Supply Enhancement, was first proposed in 2012 and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2014. In 2016, however, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation denied developer Williams Cos. a water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, halting construction.
Zeldin cited New England’s reliance on natural gas and high energy prices as reasons to divert from natural gas imported by Canada and build the pipeline. He wrote that the pipeline’s construction could bring “grid stability, create jobs, and reduce energy prices across the region for American families who have suffered long enough.”
