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By: Mona Zhang | 05/05/2026 12:04 PM EDT
The award-winning actor and activist said such a move would “be a giant victory for New Jersey’s environment and the world’s climate.”
The actor and activist Jane Fonda is weighing in on the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline project.
Fonda, known for her award-winning film career and outspoken political advocacy, penned a letter to Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday asking her to block the pipeline project from moving forward.
“You have the opportunity to exercise leadership on this issue that will resonate all over the United States,” Fonda wrote in the letter. “If the pipeline is rejected by the Tidelands Resource Council, that rejection will be a giant victory for New Jersey’s environment and the world’s climate.”
Fonda founded the Jane Fonda Climate PAC in 2022 to help elect state and local candidates who support strong climate policies.
More context: The NESE pipeline, a Williams Transco project that would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York, looked all but dead until it was revived by the Trump administration.
While New York and New Jersey both rejected water quality permits for the projects multiple times, both states issued those permits last November, sparking ire from environmentalists, who are challenging those decisions in court.
“While the pipeline has received several approvals from the governments in both states, the application for the tidal utilities license is still pending and can be rejected,” the letter read.
Last month, the Trump administration sent an all-star cast of officials for a pipeline groundbreaking event in Brooklyn, New York, touting the pipeline as a way to help lower energy bills.
However, the project is not starting construction in earnest yet. It must receive a permit from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Tidelands Resource Council, which abruptly canceled a meeting last month to consider issuing the permit.
While the Sherrill administration did not comment on the meeting cancellation, environmental advocates welcomed it as a sign that the administration was taking more time to consider the project. The project is a tougher sell for New Jersey and is opposed by local officials representing areas that would be impacted by the pipeline’s construction.
“It is meant to expand gas availability for a small part of Queens and for the two suburban counties on Long Island,” read the letter. “It would provide no gas for a single New Jersey resident.”
Sherrill’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fonda’s letter.
What’s next: The Tidelands Resource Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to consider Transco’s permit application.
Image Credit: Francis Chung/E&E News
