NEW YORK, NY — Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced on April 22 that they were denying a Water Quality Certification, which is a necessary permit for the proposed Constitution Pipeline.

In a press release, the DEC said the project—intended to move fracked natural gas from Northeast Pennsylvania—“fails to meet New York State’s water quality standards.”

The Constitution proposal involved construction of approximately 124 miles of new interstate natural gas piping in Northeast Pennsylvania, proceeding into New York State through Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie counties, terminating at the existing Wright Compressor Station in Schoharie County.

The DEC was concerned that in New York State, the project would have included 99 miles of new pipeline, that would not have been located in existing right-of-way corridors and would have impacted some 250 streams across the state.

A press release said, “DEC had repeatedly requested that Constitution provide a comprehensive and site-specific analysis of depth for pipeline burial to mitigate the project’s environmental impact—but the company refused—providing only a limited analysis of burial depth for 21 of the 250 New York streams. Pipes can become exposed in stream beds if not buried deeply enough, and corrective action can further damage the stream and impact water quality.”

The Constitution Pipeline Company responded with a press release of its own saying, “In spite of NYSDEC’s unprecedented decision, we remain absolutely committed to building this important energy infrastructure project, which will create an important connection between consumers and reliable supplies of clean, affordable natural gas. We believe NYSDEC’s stated rationale for the denial includes flagrant misstatements and inaccurate allegations, and appears to be driven more by New York State politics than by environmental science.”

Environmental groups applauded the Cuomo administration’s move. Roger Downs, conservation director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter issued the following statement:

“Governor Cuomo’s rejection of the Constitution Pipeline represents a turning of the tide, where states across the nation that have been pressured into accepting harmful gas infrastructure projects by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may now feel emboldened to push back. Cuomo’s leadership could inspire a domino effect of related pipeline rejections as other states begin to put the protection of water and our climate before flawed energy projects that do not serve the public interest.”