POLLUTION:
• The EPA’s new ozone standard left some businesses relieved and environmental and health leaders upset the initiative wasn’t stronger. (The Wall Street Journal)
Environmentalists and manufacturers both rail against EPA’s new ozone standard. (National Journal)
• Senate Republicans promise a legislative response to the EPA’s new ozone standard. (The Hill)
• How new EPA ozone limits will impact Louisiana. (New Orleans Public Radio)

UTILITIES: Power providers brace for Hurricane Joaquin’s high winds and rain as North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and other states declare a state of emergency. (Newsplex)

SOLAR:
• What happens if solar’s federal tax incentives aren’t extended? (Utility Dive)
Dominion Virginia Power sets plans for 56 megawatts of solar systems in three counties. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources selects four K-12 schools to pilot a solar education program. (WVIR-TV, Richmond)

WIND: Backed by a conservative think tank, North Carolina residents sue to block a planned Amazon wind farm. (Raleigh News and Observer)

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: A Louisiana community college is now offering courses in solar construction. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

R&D: The Clemson University Restoration Institute is collaborating on a $6.7 million research project to boost the efficiency of industrial motors. (The Post and Courier)

CLIMATE: Visitors to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee now can use equipment running on alternative fuels. (Knoxville Daily Sun)

BLANKENSHIP TRIAL:
• Miners’ families and the media are blocked from witnessing jury selection in trial of West Virginia coal baron Don Blankenship. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• How Don Blankenship won the battle to convert coal country to his brand of mining and politics. (Mother Jones)

PIPELINES:
New federal rules include more rigorous inspections and increased use of leak detection systems. (Associated Press)
• A federal judge rules Virginia landowners cannot block a utility from surveying their property for a proposed pipeline. (Associated Press)
West Virginia University will research new ways to improve the safety of oil and natural gas pipelines. (Associated Press)
ExxonMobil is fined $2.6 million for safety violations in Arkansas. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

NUCLEAR:
• Only utilities in regulated markets with high credit ratings can build new nuclear plants, says Southern Company’s CEO. (Platts)
• A clean energy group asks regulators to broaden the economic disclosures of two reactors being built by Georgia Power. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)

CAROLINAS: Residents from North Carolina and South Carolina challenge Duke Energy’s plans for massive power plant construction projects near their shared border. (Southern Environmental Law Center)

OIL & GAS: The Senate Banking Committee votes to lift the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports. (Associated Press)

FLORIDA: A small, but vocal crowd protests the proposed Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline route in Florida. (The Gainesville Sun)

COAL: Patriot Coal’s latest reorganization plan is drawing opposition over whether its environmental obligations will be fulfilled. (Associated Press)

VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS VIOLATIONS:
Tennessee legislators want Volkswagen to reassure local jobs are staying in the state. (WSMV-TV, Nashville)
• The CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America will testify before a House committee next week. (The Hill)

COMMENTARY:
• The EPA’s new ozone standard is a step forward in improving public health. (Southern Environmental Law Center)
• Memo to Congress: Keep your greedy hands off of Louisiana’s revenue sharing money. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
• Chevron should have been more transparent about the leak discovered Monday at its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery. (Sun Herald)

Jim Pierobon, a policy, marketing and social media strategist, was a founding contributor to Southeast Energy News. He passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

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