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)

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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.