EFFICIENCY: An analysis by clean-energy advocates finds efficiency programs that Ohio lawmakers seek to dismantle have saved ratepayers $2 for every $1 spent. (Columbus Dispatch)
ILLINOIS: Lawmakers in Illinois have yet to resolve a conflict between two laws that has stifled renewable energy development in the state. (EnergyWire)
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FRACKING: In a landmark case, a Texas family is awarded nearly $3 million for health problems caused by nearby fracking operations, and Ohio advocates say the state is holding back data on earthquakes. (Los Angeles Times, Youngstown Vindicator)
TRANSPORTATION: Despite shortfalls in road funding, proposals to tax motorists based on their mileage face broad opposition, from truckers to clean energy advocates. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: Wisconsin regulators say Milwaukee can’t require utilities to pay for moving power lines to accommodate a streetcar project. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
COAL: Federal regulators announce new safety rules to protect coal miners from black lung disease; Ohio-based Murray Energy says it will sue over the rules, which it claims “seek to destroy the coal industry.” And production resumes at an Indiana coal mine. (Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Platts)
OIL: Canada orders railroads to transition to safer tanker cars within three years while efforts to improve rail safety in the U.S. are “bogged down in squabbling and finger-pointing,” and North Dakota awards $5 million in grants to local governments to deal with impacts from the state’s oil boom. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Associated Press, Fargo Forum)
NATURAL GAS: A Wyoming town is evacuated after an explosion at a natural gas processing plant. (Reuters)
ETHANOL: An industry-backed study says ethanol contributes more than $19 billion per year to Iowa’s economy. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
CLIMATE: While Congress has “dropped the ball,” cities take action on climate change. (ClimateWire)
NUCLEAR: Activists raise additional questions about the safety of an Ohio nuclear plant. (Toledo Blade)
COMMENTARY: Ohio ratepayers should be vigilant as lawmakers tinker with the state’s energy laws. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)