U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Baykeeper v. Nysdec
August 21, 2026
Summary
The court denied the petition for review and upheld NYSDEC’s conditional Water Quality Certification for Transco’s pipeline project. It concluded that NYSDEC adequately explained its changed position, lawfully relied on post-certification compliance plans, and did not violate federal or state public-notice and comment requirements. The court applied de novo review to compliance with federal law and deferential arbitrary-and-capricious review to the agency’s factual and state-law determinations.