MINNESOTA: Lawmakers are in the final few days for reaching a compromise on energy legislation, though clean-energy advocates fear too many concessions — like scrapping a planned 40 percent RPS by 2030 — will be made to Republicans. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: Manitoba tribe representatives lobby against a proposed bill that would allow Minnesota utilities to count new hydro projects toward meeting renewable-energy goals. (Midwest Energy News)
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STANDARDS: The Kansas legislature votes to repeal the state’s 20 percent renewable energy standard by 2020, opting instead for voluntary goals. (Lawrence Journal-World)
EPA: An analysis shows that an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will be “largely moot” because many plants have already had to comply with the rule. (SNL Energy)
COAL:
• Wisconsin regulators allow We Energies to make $100 million in changes to its Oak Creek coal plant to burn coal from Wyoming. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Wisconsin Energy Corp. agrees to sell a small coal-fired power plant to a nearby academic medical center. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Duke Energy pleads guilty to several Clean Water Act violations for a coal-ash spill last year and agrees to pay $102 million in fines and cleanup costs. (New York Times)
FRACKING: A new report from New York officials cites climate change and earthquake risks as reasons for a statewide fracking ban. (Climate Central)
EFFICIENCY: After approval from a City Council panel, Kansas City officials will vote next week on whether to require reports from building owners on energy consumption. Background here. (Associated Press, Midwest Energy News archives)
OIL:
• President Obama says domestic oil production is important amid transition to clean energy, defending the permits granted to Shell for drilling off the coast of Alaska. (AFP)
• Environmental groups file suit against the government over new rail transport safety rules, saying they don’t go far enough to protect the public. (New York Times)
• Local officials in Chicago are worried about the possible devastation an oil train crash could cause before new rules take effect. (CBS Chicago)
DETROIT: Neighbors of Marathon’s oil refinery in southwest Detroit are demanding that the company buy their homes due to the plant’s pollution and nuisance issues. (CBS Detroit)
TRANSMISSION: A proposed 220-mile transmission project to move hydroelectric power from Canada through Minnesota clears a regulatory hurdle. (Minneapolis StarTribune)
MINING: Despite pressure from the EPA over water pollution, Minnesota’s largest taconite plant will likely maintain status quo as state sulfate-pollution rules are amended. (MinnPost)
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AIR QUALITY: Chicago is the 6th “sneeziest and wheeziest” city in the country based on a new report linking carbon emissions and allergies and asthma. (Chicago Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s evolving views on ethanol mandates. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)