The New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation on April 7 denied National Fuel Gas Co. a permit for a natural-gas pipeline. The project consists of 97 miles of mostly 24-in.-dia pipeline that would carry gas extracted in Pennsylvania through three counties in western New York. The state agency said the company application for the $455-million project “fails to demonstrate compliance” with state water-quality standards. The line would cross 192 state-regulated streams and impact about 74 acres of wetlands, including habitats of listed species of concern. The denial follows a bitter fight that drew protestors to Albany;  they delivered a letter signed by more than 140 organizations and businesses opposed to the pipeline.