OIL & GAS: Colorado may have more locations housing hazardous PFAS chemicals than any other state due to their prevalence within the oil and gas industry, according to a new analysis of U.S. EPA data. (Colorado Sun)
ALSO:
• New Mexico regulators propose a rule requiring archaeological surveys and tribal consultation before oil and gas projects are approved on state lands. (Albuquerque Journal)
• A study finds New Mexico’s taxpayers could be liable for $10.6 billion in abandoned well cleanup costs. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Regulators who scrutinized plans for an oil pipeline off southern California’s coast in the 1970s vastly underestimated the potential scope of a rupture, documents show. (Los Angeles Times)
• Two U.S. House committees hold a joint hearing to investigate the effects of this month’s southern California oil spill. (E&E News, subscription)
• The U.S. Coast Guard names the owner and operator of a cargo vessel suspected of dragging an anchor in the vicinity of this month’s oil leak as “parties in interest” in the spill investigation. (CBS News)
GRID:
• A solar and storage provider teams up with California’s Redwood Coast Energy Authority to create a 45 MWh virtual power plant consisting of residential and commercial solar-plus-storage installations in hopes of boosting grid reliability. (news release)
• Rain and associated winds damage utility equipment in Northern California, leaving 35,000 without power. (San Francisco Chronicle)
SOLAR: Several Nye County, Nevada, residents speak out against several proposed nearby solar developments and their effects on public land access and ecosystems. (Pahrump Valley Times)
CLIMATE:
• Oil and gas company officials try to strong-arm a small California town’s mayor into dropping his lawsuit demanding the industry pay for climate change-caused damages. (Guardian)
• Montana’s first major winter storm ends its unusually long wildfire season in which 940,000 acres burned, making it one of the worst seasons on record. (Montana Free Press)
• The 2021 water year was California’s driest of the last century, according to climatic records, and experts fear next year may be worse. (Los Angeles Times)
COAL: A Colorado county takes its first steps toward capturing and utilizing methane emanating from abandoned coal mines at a rate of 1.3 million cubic feet per day. (Aspen Daily News)
BIOFUELS: California county officials say two proposals to convert oil refineries to biofuel plants must be downsized to mitigate environmental impacts. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: A Nevada editorial board says without extensive upgrades, the nation’s aging power grid doesn’t stand a chance against climate-exacerbated extreme weather, wildfires and heat waves. (Las Vegas Sun)