EMISSIONS: For the president and CEO of Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group, reducing the utility’s greenhouse gas emissions is about economics. (Milwaukee Business Journal)

FRAC SAND: Environmental groups drop their lawsuits against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over its approval of clearing wetlands for a frac sand mining operation, though they are still pushing the agency to withdraw the permit. (LaCrosse Tribune)

PIPELINES:
• The Dakota Access pipeline developer has a standing offer to the state of North Dakota to help it pay for the law enforcement costs of protests. (Forum News Service)
• The Trump administration denied North Dakota’s request for a “major disaster declaration” that would have helped pay for the law enforcement costs. (Associated Press)

SOLAR:
• A $290 million solar project completed in Minnesota last month is mired in legal disputes as subcontractors say they haven’t been paid for their work. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• Companies in Ohio and Illinois are selected to receive roughly $1 million each as part of a broader U.S. Department of Energy competitive solar grant program. (Utility Dive)

OIL BY RAIL: Local officials in Illinois consider themselves lucky that there wasn’t more extensive damage after an oil train derailed in late June, four years after a deadly incident in Quebec. (DeSmog Blog)

CLEAN TECH: North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp joins two others in introducing a bill that would extend and expand tax credits for technologies aimed at lowering carbon emissions, including carbon capture. (Forum News Service)

OIL AND GAS:
• A neighboring company wants to be involved in a case being considered by Ohio regulators over siting a new natural gas plant. (Youngstown Vindicator)
• Residents express concern over the impact of underground testing for oil and gas deposits in a South Dakota county. (Hot Springs Star)

SUSTAINABILITY: A growing number of businesses are embracing “decoupling,” which allows for company growth while also reducing carbon emissions. (Minnesota Public Radio)

CLIMATE:
• Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett aims to send a “very loud and clear message” that the city remains committed to efforts combating climate change. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
• Polar explorer and Minnesota native Will Steger says the breaking of a massive ice sheet in Antarctica was driven by climate change, not natural events. (CBS Minnesota)

COMMENTARY: A North Dakota editorial says two companies’ plans to expand a natural gas processing plant and add services at an oil refining facility are “good news for the state.” (Bismarck Tribune)