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)