Williams to Revive Plans for N.Y. Natural Gas Pipelines

A pipeline company is reviving plans to build two natural gas pipelines into New York State, a major reversal that amounts to a bet that the Trump administration will be able to strong-arm states into signing off on energy projects.

New York had blocked both pipelines, called Constitution and Northeast Supply Enhancement, over environmental concerns. But the Trump administration has made clear that it wants more oil and gas infrastructure, including in the Northeast, where pipelines had become so hard to build that companies had all but given up on them.

The decision by the pipeline business, Williams Companies, to formally restart efforts to build the pipelines comes a week after the Trump administration withdrew its opposition to a wind energy project, Empire Wind, off the coast of Long Island, after weeks of lobbying by Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York.

As part of the discussions over letting Empire Wind move forward, Ms. Hochul said she would work with the Trump administration on new energy projects that comply with state law, though she did not explicitly mention pipelines. But Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, later posted on X that Ms. Hochul had signaled a “willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.”

The Constitution pipeline was designed to transport gas more than 100 miles from northeast Pennsylvania toward Albany. The lesser-known and shorter Northeast Supply Enhancement project would run largely underwater, from New Jersey toward New York City.

Williams, based in Tulsa, Okla., said Thursday that it was in talks with state officials about both projects and had asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate a permit for the Northeast Supply Enhancement.