A controversial fracked gas pipeline off New York’s Rockaway Beach has gained new life after being rejected three times for violating water quality standards, raising questions about whether political pressure is overriding environmental protection.

The Williams Company’s Northeastern Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline would carry Pennsylvania fracked gas through New York Harbor to connect with existing infrastructure off Long Island’s coast. State environmental officials previously warned that construction would disturb decades-old contaminants including mercury and copper from the ocean floor, threatening marine life and coastal communities.

The pipeline’s revival appears linked to a behind-the-scenes deal between the Trump administration and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In April, the Interior Department halted a $5 billion offshore wind project, then reversed course a month later. Critics allege the administration agreed to allow the wind project in exchange for New York approving the pipeline—what advocacy group Public Citizen called a “lurid political shakedown.” Hochul denies any quid pro quo arrangement.

For residents like Ed Power, a retired firefighter in flood-prone Breezy Point, the pipeline represents another threat to their vulnerable coastline. “Everything about this is a horror,” Power said. An economic analysis found the $1.25 billion project would provide no permanent jobs and only 9% of temporary construction work would occur in New York. Environmental groups argue the pipeline contradicts New York’s climate goals and question whether the state will approve a project previously deemed dangerous based on unchanged scientific evidence.