CLIMATE: The state of Minnesota and the city of Chicago are among areas vowing to continue efforts to reduce carbon emissions despite President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Associated Press, E&E News)
ALSO:
• Mayors of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis and other Midwest cities are among the 84 municipal leaders that have pledged to move forward on climate action. (Fortune)
• A Republican congressman from Michigan calls Trump’s decision a “mistake,” while another says that God will “take care of” climate change if it becomes a “real problem.” (MLive, Detroit Free Press)
• The National Farmers Union criticizes Trump’s decision, saying “we’re rescinding our leadership on addressing climate change.” (Iowa Farmer Today)
• More reaction: Ohio | Indiana | Wisconsin | Illinois | Michigan | Minnesota | Kansas/Missouri | Nebraska | South Dakota | North Dakota
NUCLEAR: Chicago-based Exelon is vouching for FirstEnergy’s request for subsidies to support its Ohio nuclear plants. (Columbus Business First)
OIL AND GAS: Diesel fuel has been found in the drilling mud that spilled into an Ohio wetland from the Rover gas pipeline, and the state is ordering increased monitoring of drinking water supplies. (Canton Repository)
PIPELINES:
• Newly released documents show the oil and gas pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac went through periods of time recently with large sections missing underwater supports. (Detroit Free Press)
• Though oil is now flowing through the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others vow to continue fighting the project. (NPR)
• Two officials with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe are acquitted of disorderly conduct charges stemming from Dakota Access protests. (Associated Press)
REGULATION: New legislation signed by Gov. Mark Dayton in Minnesota restricts utility regulators’ authority to settle customer disputes with electric co-ops. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
COAL: Researchers at Michigan Technological University determine the social and health costs of burning coal and the value of switching to solar. (UPMatters.com)
VOLKSWAGEN SCANDAL: Minnesota officials are seeking public input on ways to spend the $47 million in Volkswagen settlement money. (KSTP)
BIOFUELS: Officials in Milwaukee vote to approve a lease amendment for a company looking to export ethanol from Port Milwaukee to Canada and possibly Europe. (Milwaukee BizTimes)
GRID: Transmission line crews from Illinois electric cooperatives help electrify rural areas of Bolivia as part of a volunteer program to improve access to the grid in developing countries. (Midwest Energy News)
COMMENTARY:
• Withdrawing from the Paris agreement “flies in the face of the spirit of the landmark climate agreement and denies the basic physics of climate change.” (Climate Central)
• An advocacy group says the longer Ohio regulators delay a decision on subsidies for FirstEnergy’s unprofitable power plants, the more it will cost ratepayers. (Environmental Defense Fund)