PUBLIC LANDS:
• The Biden administration suspends oil and gas lease permitting on federal lands and waters for 60 days, but industry executives say shutting off production under a ban would take years because of existing stockpiled permits by major drillers. (Reuters)
• Wyoming political and oil and gas industry leaders criticize the decision, saying it will mean fewer jobs and more economic troubles for the state. (Casper Star-Tribune)

CLIMATE:
• California climate experts say President Biden’s restoration of the state’s authority to set its own emissions standards was needed, and also challenges the state to improve. (Capital Public Radio News)
• Ninety randomly picked Washington residents are holding a first-of-its-kind Climate Assembly for the state and the U.S. over the next two months. (Crosscut)

COAL:
• The Biden-controlled Justice Department has the opportunity to give a Supreme Court opinion on Washington blocking a proposed coal export terminal after the Trump administration failed to do so. (S&P Global)
• A New Mexico clean energy advocate is concerned about a plan that would see ratepayers saddled with paying $300 million for the state’s largest power utility to exit a coal-fired power plant after “imprudent” investments. (New Mexico Public Report)

TRANSPORTATION: A Colorado county joins 14 other local governments in an amicus brief objecting to a Trump administration vehicle emissions rule they say doesn’t reduce air pollution or address climate change. (news release)

ELECTRIFICATION: The Washington chapter of a real estate trade group says a proposal to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new large multifamily and commercial buildings in Seattle is trying to do too much before new technology and infrastructure are in place. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

HYDROPOWER: The Trump administration finalizes a lease for Oregon State University’s wave energy testing facility to deploy a project said to be a “proving ground for the future of wave energy.” (Gizmodo)

OIL & GAS:
• As the Biden administration seeks to tighten oversight of the oil and gas industry, Colorado’s regulations could provide a template. (Denver Post)
• A new report from an environmental group finds that Colorado’s oil and gas industry is responsible for 70% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, a sharp contrast to the state’s new reduction roadmap which gave a 17.3% estimation. (Colorado Times Recorder)

UTILITIES:
• Los Angeles’ municipal utility is looking for feedback on a study of how the city can reach 100% renewable energy by 2045 along with options for achieving it by 2030. (My News LA)
• A Colorado co-op joins a lawsuit challenging Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s move to become federally regulated. (Durango Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• New Mexico State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez advocates for a bill that would require oil and gas wastewater recycling in the state. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A former candidate for Montana’s Public Service Commission says utility shareholders, not customers, should bear the financial brunt of poor planning decisions. (Montana Standard)

Lisa Ellwood

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).