National Grid has told the East Williston government that gas service requests will no longer be processed in East Williston until the rejected Northeast Supply Enhancement project is approved, the village board said at a meeting Monday.
The project, meant to provide additional capacity to customers in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, is described by the Environmental Department of Conservation as a pipeline proposed by Transco that would deliver natural gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey, then underwater through Raritan Bay and Lower New York Bay to about 3 miles offshore the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.
The transportation system involves 23.5 miles of underwater pipeline, of which some 17.4 miles would be in New York state waters.
On May 15, the state DEC rejected the project due to Transco’s “inability to demonstrate the project’s compliance with all applicable water quality standards.”
This decision immediately had an impact on the village of East Williston.
“National Grid said there’s not enough supply to meet the demand,” Mayor Bonnie L.S. Parente said about the issue.
As of May 2019, the village board reported that no new plumbing permits would be issued unless a customer provided documentation that the application had been completed before May 15.
All gas permit applications must now include current gas load notifications, all new or replacement equipment manufacturers’ gas load specifications, and a load verification permit issued by the village’s plumbing inspector.
Gas plumbing permits can only be issued if the replacement’s gas load is equal to or less than the current equipment.
If gas load is added to a meter and pressure problems occur, it will be the responsibility of the plumber to rectify the issue as National Grid will not be upgrading the service or the gas meter.
The village board told the public that it does not have control over the situation. As Mayor Parente explained, “If you want to switch to gas, it’s not us stopping it.”
The mayor said National Grid told her that “it is a mechanical issue, not a shortage.”
If you have any questions regarding National Grid’s suspension of processing, call (800) 930-5003. A public comment period is open until June 13 and comments can be submitted to Karen Gaidasz, Project Manager, at her email NESEproject@dec.ny.gov
