POLICY:
• Environmental advocates in North Carolina and elsewhere criticize President-elect Trump’s choice of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be EPA administrator. (Progressive Pulse, The Washington Post)
• Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory meets with President-elect Donald Trump. (Progressive Pulse)
COAL:
• Duke Energy’s CEO reminds a conference in Virginia that a revival of the coal industry is unlikely. (Bristol Herald Courier)
• A short-term extension of health-care benefits for retired miners proposed by Congressional Republicans is far from what miners deserve and need, union leaders and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, say. (Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Hill)
• A $1 billion proposal to help struggling coal regions is left out of a short-term federal spending bill. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• The Interior Dept. designates more than 500 miles of mountain ridge lines in East Tennessee as unsuitable for future surface mining. (Associated Press)
• Coal industry executives offered an initial to-do list for President-elect Trump: stop the Clean Power Plan and the “stream protection” rule. (Platts)
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CLIMATE:
• Several states in the Southeast that went for President-elect Trump face significant climate challenges the federal government could help mitigate. (The Atlantic)
• Rep. Carlos Rubelo, R-FL, draws a spotlight in a National Geographic TV series on climate change. (POLITICO Florida, National Geographic TV)
• Environmentalists prepare to use legal means to enforce pollution rules. (Asheville Citizen-Times)
• With about 30% of its hog farms located in North Carolina, pork producer Smithfield draws accolades for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (GreenBiz.com)
PIPELINES:
• Environmentalists accuse the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of a built-in bias for interstate pipelines, including several planned through Virginia. (Public News Service)
• Students at a private Virginia college jump into conversations about pipelines planned through the state. (The Blue & Gray Press)
• Critics of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia claim regulators’ draft of its environmental impact statement is “riddled with errors.” (WVTF)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• With Duke Energy’s help, Greensboro, North Carolina is converting its 47 buses to run on electricity rather than diesel fuel. (Triad Business Journal)
• Advocates in Virginia urge Gov. Terry McAuliffe to use the state’s $87 million settlement from the Volkswagen emissions scandal to advance EVs. (Sierra Club)
WEST VIRGINIA: A former utility CEO and coal industry executives are among those chosen by Governor-elect Jim Justice to advise him on energy challenges facing the state. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
COAL ASH: Duke Energy is negotiating compensation of neighbors of its ash pits facing depressed property values or a future dependent on municipal water due to feared groundwater pollution. (Winston Salem-Journal, Charlotte Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• Dominion Virginia Power says it is testing the viability of solar with systems at 10 sites across the state. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• O’Henry’s Coffees in Homewood, Alabama plans to power its operations with solar energy. (Birmingham Business Journal)
EFFICIENCY: A grandson of media mogul Ted Turner is named to be Atlanta’s new director of sustainability. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
UTILITIES: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is the battleground where electricity suppliers and environmentalists are squaring off over a water effluent rule that could be influenced by next EPA administrator. (Greenwire)
NATURAL GAS: Consol Energy, an active producer of gas throughout Appalachia that used to be a leading coal supplier, is not looking back. (Wall Street Journal)
TRANSPORTATION: Virginia localities, including Fredericksburg, take stock of a high-speed rail line planned from Florida to Washington, D.C. (Fredericksburg Free Lane-Star)
COMMENTARY:
• As Elon Musk helps create 35,000 jobs in the Southeast and elsewhere, why isn’t he talking to President-elect Trump about job creation? (New York Times)
• Florida Power & Light’s actions on multiple fronts should be wake-up calls for South Florida residents concerned about their drinking water and access to solar energy. (Miami New Times)
• Federal regulators should stop dragging their feet in reviewing a plan to expand the liquefied natural gas export terminal at Elba Island, Georgia. (Savannah Morning News)
• What should Kentuckians say to Sen. Mitch McConnell, who won’t secure long-term health and pension benefits for coal miners? (Lexington Herald-Leader)