OIL & GAS: Documents show that California’s oil and gas regulator is failing to enforce pollution violations, and imposing small fines when it does. (ProPublica/Desert Sun)

ALSO:
• New Mexico’s oil and gas industry is in limbo on its post-pandemic future, waiting to see if regulatory policies will be enacted enabling it to grow or restricting future production. (Albuquerque Journal)
• Bend, Oregon officials raise concerns about oil train safety issues. (Bend Bulletin)

PIPELINES: A federal court rules a lawsuit aiming to stop a proposed Idaho-Wyoming gas pipeline can proceed. (KMTV)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• California’s Democratic senators will push President Biden to follow their state’s lead and “set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles” in a letter sent today. (Reuters)
• A Washington county is offering cashback rebates to purchasers of qualifying electric cars and charging stations. (Everett Herald)

UTILITIES: PG&E is set to start moving ratepayers to a time-of-use plan next month where electricity is more expensive from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day. (San Francisco Chronicle)

GRID:
• PG&E gets state regulatory approval for a plan to help local governments and tribes in California set up community microgrids to protect critical facilities during blackouts. (Microgrid Knowledge)
• The Agriculture Department awards federal rural electric loans to states including Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and a $235 million federal loan to the Navajo Nation to build and improve utility lines across its reservation. (Hagstrom Report, KTAR)

WIND: A University of Wyoming wind energy expert says the majority of misinformation about a proposed project in the state is coming from those opposing it. (Wyoming Public Media)

COMMENTARY:
• A New Mexico editorial board supports Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s proposal for “energy transition credit” to states when new policies on oil and gas leasing on federal lands are crafted. (Albuquerque Journal)
• An environmental advocate says President Biden’s moratorium on federal oil and gas leasing does not impact the estimated 10 years worth of unused leases and drilling permits still in place. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• A University of Idaho College of Law professor says Congress should reaffirm tribal climate regulatory authority if it fails to take meaningful action nationally to address the climate crisis. (Regulatory Review)
• A Nevada editorial board says a proposed bill that would levy a 10% surcharge on electric vehicle charging stations is worth considering. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).