CLIMATE:
• Attorneys General from 19 states, including six in the Southeast, assert a proposed emissions rule should be thrown out because EPA missed its own deadline for finalizing the rule. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
• EPA chief Gina McCarthy knocks Kentucky Sen. and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell asserting he’s confused about the enforceability of the Clean Power Plan. (Politico)
• With the tempo and intensity of weather disasters picking up, Arkansas’ emergency management chief is trying to cope. (Arkansas Business)
OIL & GAS:
• Thousands of opinions poured in through Monday’s midnight deadline commenting drilling for oil and gas off the Atlantic seaboard. (Associated Press)
• Virginia officials have fined CSX $361,000 for the April 2014 derailment of a crude-oil tanker train that ruptured and caught fire alongside the James River in Lynchburg, VA. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Five years after the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the National Wildlife Federation asserts at least 20 species are experiencing continued problems. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
NUCLEAR: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is inspecting Entergy Operations’ River Bend nuclear power plant in Louisiana to determine why ventilation and cooling equipment failed March 9. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
UTILITIES: Florida lawmakers were told Monday that top officials at the Florida Municipal Power Agency were too busy to discuss audit findings that described risky fuel trading schemes and lavish spending. (Saint Peters Blog)
FUEL EFFICIENCY:
• Daimler Trucks North America near Charlotte unveiled a concept truck promising 12.2 miles per gallon, a roughly 50 percent improvement over the big rigs on the road today. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• New buses fueled with compressed natural gas have begun service in Tampa, FL, and are projected to lower emissions and save the transit authority about $16,000 annually. (The Tampa Tribune)
EFFICIENCY:
• Charlotte-based Lime Energy has acquired a California energy-efficiency software developer and programs administrator for $11 million in cash. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Servato, a battery maintenance and management company based near New Orleans, has been chosen to pitch technology investors in Silicon Valley as the winner of the Coulter IDEApitch business competition. (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
COMMENTARY:
• A twenty-something voter urges 2016 candidates to take climate change seriously. (The Palm Beach Post)
• The solar marketplace deserves a chance even if monopoly utilities don’t want it to. (Charleston Daily Mail, WV)
• This is no time to stand in the way of solar power. (The Free-Lance Star, Fredericksburg, VA)