NUCLEAR: Federal regulators finish a seven-year study partly clearing the way for two new reactors at the Turkey Point plant in Florida. (Miami Herald)
ALSO:
• America’s newest reactor in Tennessee returns to power after a nine-day outage linked to a possibly faulty transformer. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• A deficient valve at Alabama Power’s Farley plant releases ammonia “dangerous to life” but the leak is quickly patched. (Dothan Eagle)
FLORIDA:
• Solar groups file a pair of lawsuits to nullify the solar Amendment 1 and to “embargo” counting votes on it until the state Supreme Court can rule. (Miami Herald)
• An industry poll shows support slipping for Amendment 1. (SolarWakeUp.com)
PIPELINES:
• A group of House Democrats urge federal officials to investigate Colonial Pipeline after its deadly explosion in Alabama Monday. (The Hill)
• Although a fire from its Monday explosion in Alabama was still burning late Wednesday, Colonial Pipeline aims to start repairs by this weekend. (Associated Press, Birmingham Business Journal)
• Federal regulators approve an interstate gas pipeline in West Virginia and Kentucky and three compressor stations that come with it. (Gas Compression Magazine)
• A map identifies oil and gas pipelines in Alabama county-by-county. (Alabama Media Group)
• Opponents of Dominion’s planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline route in central Virginia plan a “revival” for this weekend. (WVIR)
• Residents of central Virginia criticize as “disenfranchising” federal regulators’ efforts to hear the public’s views on pipelines. (The Roanoke Times)
COAL: Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning touts progress at its “clean coal” power plant in front of a rate hike request for its Mississippi Power unit. (MississippiWatchdog.org)
NATURAL GAS: Florida regulators halt hedging of natural gas purchases by Florida’s major utilities. (SaintPetersBlog)
OIL & GAS: New rules are to guide North Carolina in remediating groundwater contamination from underground storage tanks. (SmithEnvironment Blog)
COAL ASH: The TVA seeks input on alternatives for managing coal ash in Kentucky. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy’s new president in Florida is its current vice president for environmental, health and safety. (SaintPetersBlog)
TRANSPORTATION: Here’s how Chattanooga is connecting renewables with more efficient public transit and electric cars. (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy)
EFFICIENCY: Upon completion, 119 homes under construction will add to the 1,215 homes in North Carolina qualified to claim a “Green Built NC” certification. (Black Mountain News)
CLIMATE: Despite the growing risk and disappearing federal aid tied to updated resettlement zone maps, many residents of coastal Louisiana are staying put. (WSDU)
VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS SCANDAL: Two Republicans are probing the settlement agreement between VW and the EPA. (The Hill)
COMMENTARY:
• The federal process for permitting pipelines is rigged. (Roanoke Times)
• A prominent blog tallies figures in a Florida newspaper’s report on utilities’ spending to fight solar there and finds its total wanting. (SaintPetersBlog)
• More Floridians are seeing the light about the solar Amendment 1 and voting no. (Orlando Sentinel)
• A non-profit urges the EPA to boost opportunities for solar and efficiency to help low-income communities in South Carolina and elsewhere. (Southern Environmental Law Center)