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EPA: An error that Congress made more than 20 years ago may be industry’s only hope of avoiding carbon dioxide regulations for existing power plants. (Greenwire)
‘PETKOCH’: Residents of a southeast Chicago neighborhood pack a hearing to voice concerns to industry and city officials about growing piles of petroleum coke along the Calumet River. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
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POLLUTION: Environmental groups dispute a utility’s claim that a cloud of fly ash released over Springfield, Missouri this week is harmless. (Springfield News-Leader)
OIL: Gasoline futures are spiking after a Wednesday night fire closed down a Chicago-area refinery. (Reuters)
CLIMATE: A study ordered by the Nebraska legislature on “cyclical” climate change is running into a hitch — scientists are refusing to participate. (Omaha World-Herald)
ALSO: Wall Street investors want answers on the long-term value of fossil fuel reserves, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says the debate on whether to act on climate change has “turned the corner.” (InsideClimate News, The Hill)
COAL: An Ohio coal mine will shut down, Illinois towns brace for the impact of coal mine layoffs, and a historical marker honoring Illinois’ first coal mine will be replaced more than 30 years after the original disappeared. (Columbus Business First, Springfield State Journal-Register, Carbondale Southern)
ELECTRIC CARS: Eight states on the east and west coasts will coordinate policies with a goal of putting 3.3 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025. (New York Times)
KEYSTONE XL: The State Department will release documents showing communications with lobbying firms seeking approval of Keystone XL; and a former White House climate adviser says President Obama will likely reject the pipeline, “but there will be some more twists and turns before we get there.” (The Hill)
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BIOENERGY: At Nebraska’s Bacon Hill Farms, a hog manure biodigester generates enough electricity to power 50 homes. (National Hog Farmer)
COMMENTARY: Why we should all be concerned about petroleum coke piles in Chicago’s Southeast Side. (Huffington Post)