PIPELINES:
• The Trump administration approves a construction permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to the project’s developers. (New York Times)
• A federal judge dismisses a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission brought by environmentalists who accused the agency of being biased toward approving natural gas pipelines. (E&E News)
POLLUTION:
• Texas regulators fine an oil and gas company over $100,000 for failing to clean up spilled oil and toxic water. (FuelFix)
• Coal slurry leaks from a burst pipe into a waterway south of Charleston, West Virginia. (Associated Press)
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COAL:
• A West Virginia Senate committee approves a new bill that retreats from previously proposed legislation that would have eliminated almost all authority over the state’s coal mines. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A federal judge says Dominion Virginia Power broke federal laws by allowing arsenic to flow from one of its coal ash storage sites, but said “the discharge poses no threat to health or the environment.” (Associated Press)
• The U.S. is importing increasing amounts of coal ash for use in construction projects, while critics want Virginia to mandate more recycling of the ash that’s already here. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• The Colorado Court of Appeals says oil and gas regulators must reconsider a proposed regulation to stop issuing drilling permits until a third-party organization confirms that drilling won’t harm the environment or human health. (Denver Post)
• Commissioners in Boulder County, Colorado, adopt new regulations governing oil and gas permitting, calling them “the most stringent in the state.” (Denver Business Journal)
REGULATION: California regulators pass the nation’s strictest rules to control methane emissions in a unanimous vote. (Reuters)
TRANSPORTATION: California is on track to meet its aggressive car-emission standards, according to a state review, and regulators are expected to discuss the standards at a hearing on Friday. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Madison, Wisconsin sets an ambitious goal to power the entire city with 100 percent renewable energy – not just for electricity but also for transportation and heating. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• Once popular only in the desert Southwest, large-scale solar power is rapidly spreading throughout the country thanks to sharply falling prices, technology advances and favorable tax breaks and incentives. (Yale Environment 360)
• Power industry leaders urge Indiana lawmakers to adopt a bill that would curtail a benefit to solar customers in the state, saying it would add a “level of certainty” to the industry. (Associated Press)
• Researchers lay out a solar policy playbook that calls for policy reform and greater cooperation with China. (Greentech Media)
COMMENTARY:
• California’s Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility shouldn’t be reopened before inspectors determine what caused a massive methane leak at the site, says the Los Angeles Times editorial board.
• Toshiba’s financial meltdown reveals “the real problem with nuclear plants: They cost too much.” (Houston Chronicle)