OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators approve “strongest in the nation” rules that will significantly increase oil and gas reclamation bond amounts and levy new fees to fund abandoned well cleanup, eliciting environmentalists’ applause and industry criticism. (Colorado Newsline)

ALSO:
• California community advocates urge officials to reject Phillips 66’s proposal to continue operating a Port of Los Angeles oil terminal for up to 40 years. (Daily Breeze, subscription)
• Oregon lawmakers pass a bill requiring owners of Portland fuel storage tanks to assess the facility’s vulnerability to a major earthquake off the state’s coast. (Portland Tribune)     

COAL:
• Navajo Nation advocates oppose a tribe-owned energy firm’s investment in a company that hopes to take over a New Mexico coal plant scheduled for retirement this year, install carbon capture equipment and keep it running indefinitely. (Farmington Daily Times)
• Wyoming’s House of Representatives passes a tax break for coal companies that would save the industry $10 million annually while costing the state. (Wyoming Public Radio)

NUCLEAR:
• Wyoming lawmakers consider requiring operators of advanced nuclear reactors to source fuel from Wyoming mines “to the maximum extent possible.” (Oil City News)
• After the U.S. Geological Survey removed uranium from its critical minerals list in a blow to producers, the Energy Department suggests it will include uranium on its own critical minerals list. (E&E News)
• U.S. senators from New Mexico and Texas introduce bipartisan legislation that would stop the Department of Energy from funding interim spent reactor fuel storage sites in their states. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: An Idaho county approves a special use permit for a 300 MW solar facility proposed for the southern part of the state. (Idaho State Journal)

BIOFUEL: Hawaii environmentalists urge regulators to reject a permit for a biomass power plant that has faced legal and regulatory challenges for years. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

HYDROGEN: Colorado energy officials say a bid to secure funding for a regional hydrogen hub aims to supply the fuel to industrial and utility-scale applications, not individuals’ homes and cars. (Colorado Sun)  

STORAGE: A developer brings a 140 MW/560 MWh battery storage project online in southern California. (Energy Storage News)

UTILITIES:
• Pacific Gas & Electric officials say someone tampered with utility equipment, leaving an entire California city without natural gas for heating and cooking. (KSBW)  
• California’s U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein calls on federal regulators to stop utilities from making ratepayers fund political lobbying. (news release) 

COMMENTARY:
• A California editorial board urges lawmakers to ban new offshore oil drilling and terminate existing leases in state waters “to fight climate change and protect its treasured coastline.” (Los Angeles Times)
• A Wyoming environmentalist says a proposal to exempt a Bill Gates-backed advanced nuclear reactor from some rules and taxes “only serves to enrich billionaires” and opens communities to potential socioeconomic impacts. (Casper Star-Tribune)

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.