OIL & GAS: The Coast Guard is investigating whether a massive cargo ship that made unusual movements while anchored near the California oil spill site may have breached the pipeline with its anchor; the ship is one of dozens waiting to pull into L.A. ports. (Associated Press, Grist) 

ALSO:
• Navajo Nation delegates say an oil and gas leasing ban around Chaco Culture National Historical Park could negatively affect tribal allottees and ask Congress to hold hearings before enacting legislation. (Associated Press)  
• More than 300 Indigenous, public health and environmental groups petition the Biden administration to stop issuing water permits for fossil fuel infrastructure, saying such projects are not in the public interest. (E&E News, subscription)
• A New Mexico federal oil and gas lease sale slated for early next year moves forward despite environmentalist opposition. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Ventura County, California’s supervisors authorize spending up to $2 million to defend against oil and gas industry lawsuits over new regulations. (Ventura County Star) 

LITHIUM: Tribal lawyers ask a judge to block excavation at a proposed Nevada lithium mine after new evidence confirms federal troops massacred 31 Paiute people at the site in 1865. (Associated Press)

GRID:
• A coalition of the West’s largest utilities begin exploring ways to share resources, but critics call it a piecemeal approach that won’t be effective unless it leads to the formation of a regional transmission organization. (Renewable Energy World)
• A new study finds diesel backup generators have proliferated in California over the last three years, hampering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (news release)

UTILITIES:
• Arizona regulators pass amendments reducing Arizona Public Service’s potential profitability and allowing it to pay the Hopi Tribe to offset coal plant-closure impacts, but defer other rate case decisions. (ABC15)
• Rocky Mountain Power officials say the Utah utility will not be able to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. (FOX13)

CLIMATE: Climate change is supercharging California heat waves, but experts say the state’s public health response is not adequate to keep the death toll from rising. (Los Angeles Times)

SOLAR:
• An Arizona pilot project uses concentrated solar power to synthesize jet fuel from carbon dioxide. (Fast Company)
• California’s first fully solar-powered compost facility opens in Chula Vista to recycle food and yard waste from the San Diego region. (news release)

WIND: A German renewable energy company scouts the Oregon coast for potential offshore wind facility locations. (KCBY)

TRANSPORTATION: The Bay Area air quality district relaunches a program paying low-income residents up to $9,500 to trade in old cars for hybrid or electric vehicles. (Times Herald)

COAL: Humboldt County, California’s supervisors pass a resolution opposing an apparent effort to export Powder River Basin coal by rail to the coast for export. (Lost Coast Outpost)

COMMENTARY:
• Ocean conservation advocates say the fossil fuel industries’ grip on politicians blocked policies that could have prevented the recent oil spill off California’s coast. (USA Today)
• A California scientist says the California oil spill is especially disastrous for birds because it fouled a fragile coastal wetland during the peak of fall migration. (Washington Post)

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Jonathan P. Thompson

Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.