TRANSPORTATION: Public transit agencies around the country face drastic cuts amid changes in ridership from the pandemic, as a bipartisan $15 billion aid package is being blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (New York Times)
CLIMATE:
• President-elect Joe Biden indicates he is open to deficit spending to address climate change. (E&E News, subscription)
• “The honeymoon ended at the altar”: Environmental groups are already pressing the incoming Biden administration to take aggressive action on climate change. (Reuters)
• The Vermont Climate Council aims to get the state back on track for reducing emissions after the effort stalls in recent years. (Energy News Network)
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COAL:
• A coal company owned by West Virginia’s governor agrees to abide by pollution limits and will pay $300,000 in a settlement after it was found liable for 138 selenium-related violations. (ProPublica, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Wyoming officials defend spending millions of dollars to promote the coal industry as other areas of the state budget face drastic cuts. (Casper Star-Tribune)
NATURAL GAS:
• Nevada’s recently released climate plan outlines a transition away from natural gas, which a state official says “has to be sensitive to costs.” (Nevada Independent)
• The entire legislative delegation of a region in Rhode Island that suffers natural gas shortages opposes a utility plan to solve it by building more capacity. (UpriseRI)
PIPELINES: Minnesota regulators deny a request to halt construction on the Line 3 pipeline. (Star Tribune)
POLLUTION: A California official says 2020 was a “really, really bad ozone year” for Southern California despite a 21-day stretch of smog-free days in Los Angeles that overlapped coronavirus stay-at-home orders. (Los Angeles Times)
PUBLIC LANDS: New revenue data from the Interior Department indicates payments to Western states from drilling and mining on public lands decreased 26% in fiscal year 2020 compared to 2019. (Associated Press)
WIND:
• New Jersey’s largest utility buys a 25% stake in the state’s first offshore wind farm off Atlantic City as it moves toward its zero-carbon generation goal. (NJ Spotlight)
• A year into its operations, a New Hampshire wind farm continues to polarize opponents despite complying with mitigation rules. (Energy News Network)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Roughly 150 Cadillac dealerships are choosing to take buyouts from General Motors instead of investing thousands of dollars to support electric vehicles. (Detroit News)
EFFICIENCY: A federal lawmaker says appliance energy efficiency standards will be a “top priority” under the incoming Biden administration. (Utility Dive)
EQUITY:
• A North Carolina task force recommends the state add environmental justice and inclusion positions at four agencies to counter a tendency to locate polluting industries near low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. (N.C. Policy Watch)
• Tesla’s first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact report shows the company’s U.S. leadership is 83% male, and 59% white. (The Verge)
COMMENTARY: North Carolina advocates say the clean energy industry can advance racial equity through job opportunities and making energy improvements available to people who struggle to pay energy bills. (Raleigh News & Observer)