The Trump administration will tap an emergency wartime law to build a long-stalled 125-mile natural gas pipeline extending from Pennsylvania’s drilling fields to New York.
Authorities plan to use up to $42 million in Defense Production Act Title III funding to move forward with the proposed project.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the project will bolster the nation’s energy systems; lower electricity and home heating costs across the Northeast; and reduce blackout risk.
“Despite America having an abundant supply of low-cost natural gas, tens of millions of Americans have limited access to this reliable energy source due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure,” Wright said in an Oct. 19 statement.
First proposed in 2012 by Williams Partners, the pipeline was to transport natural gas to markets across the region that currently have limited access to the low-cost fuel. It received federal approval two years later but was blocked by then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The infrastructure was never built. And, after years of opposition from community advocates and environmentalists, New York state officials rejected the pipeline’s Clean Water Act water-quality permit. The project was scrapped in 2020.
Then, in spring 2025, President Donald Trump expressed an interest in restarting the initiative and potentially reviving the natural gas pipeline.
“I hope we don’t have to use the extraordinary powers of the federal government to get it done,” the president told reporters before meeting with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “But if we have to, we will.”
In December, the Constitution Pipeline Co.—a subsidiary of Williams Partners—filed a petition to reissue the certificates of public convenience and necessity authorizing the pipeline.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff prepared an environmental assessment and concluded in August that it would not affect the human environment.
A public comment window was closed in mid-September. Other federal agencies are expected to complete their authorizations by late next month.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
What the Parties Say
Opponents of the project say it is unnecessary.
Stop the Constitution Pipeline, a coalition of environmental groups, local advocates, and property owners, urged federal regulators not to go forward with the project. The organization argues that the region already has sufficient infrastructure to meet demand.
“In spite of all the hype, the Constitution Pipeline cannot lower prices to consumers in either New York City or New England because it cannot provide any additional gas to those markets,” the coalition said in a statement on its website.
But Williams said the pipeline is needed.
A street in New York City during a winter storm on Jan. 25, 2026. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
The firm noted that natural demand has ballooned by 49 percent since 2013, while infrastructure has expanded by only 26 percent. It also stated that the pipeline would reduce emissions, increase system capacity, and generate up to $1 billion in economic output over the 12-month construction period.
“But this project isn’t just about supply, it’s about transformation,” the group said on its website. “In a region where the electric grid is under pressure and winters are harsh, Constitution offers a cleaner alternative to heating oil, cutting emissions and supporting a more sustainable future.”
An independent analysis determined that the pipeline could save Northeast consumers almost $6 billion in wholesale electricity costs over 20 years.
Daymark Energy Advisors, an energy consulting and market analysis firm, said in a July report that increased natural gas supplies would diminish dependence on high-cost, high-emission fuel oil required during winter demand peaks. It is estimated that approximately 163,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be avoided and about 700 gigawatt-hours of fuel oil generation would be displaced.
“Our analysis confirms that Constitution Pipeline can play a meaningful role in improving energy affordability and reliability for millions of consumers across the Northeast,” Dan Koehler, principal consultant at Daymark and one of the study’s lead authors, said in a statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
