TRANSPORTATION: After 19 hours, a House committee passes a $547 billion transportation bill that would include billions for mass transit and passenger rail while de-emphasizing road expansion, while a bipartisan group of senators say they have reached an agreement on infrastructure spending. (Washington Post, Reuters)

POLLUTION: The EPA announces it will move to tighten regulations on soot from power plants and other industrial sources, which has significant health impacts in urban areas. (New York Times)

EQUITY:
• During a visit to Nevada, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the Biden administration wants to mine lithium “in a responsible way” that respects Indigenous rights. (Associated Press)
• As energy companies position themselves as promoting equity and inclusion, lawmakers that are major recipients of their donations are pushing bills that would increase discrimination against transgender people. (Heated)
A Massachusetts program intends to invest $10 million in up to 3 MW of solar projects on affordable housing buildings and assist interested community development agencies. (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge blocks two Trump-era drilling plans on over 400,000 acres in Wyoming and Montana because federal land managers failed to consider the projects’ effects on the greater sage grouse. (Associated Press)
• Analysts expect Canadian oil sands production to surge in the next two years despite the defeat of the Keystone XL pipeline. (E&E News, subscription)
• The Interior Department proposes to reverse a Trump administration regulation that would cut lease payments for drilling on public lands. (The Hill)

PIPELINES:
• A proposed natural gas pipeline through a Black farming community in Illinois moves forward despite opposition from some landowners. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• The director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority says Keystone XL’s cancelation “adds a cloud to all new pipeline projects.” (KFYR)
• Native American contractors working on the Line 3 pipeline replacement and expansion say recent protests “intentionally create a false narrative that there is no Native American support for this project.” (Star Tribune)

CLIMATE:
• In a private call last month, former vice president Al Gore urged President Biden to stand firm on climate goals despite pushback during infrastructure talks. (Washington Post)
• Biden leans on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her history as a fellow former governor to get U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin on board with the administration’s energy agenda. (E&E News, subscription)
• House Republicans are launching a members-only climate caucus “to get conservatives more engaged on climate who otherwise wouldn’t.” (E&E News)

COAL:
• Coal-fired power plants generating gigawatts of power in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio will shutter by mid-September, according to the facilities’ owner; at least one of the facilities was slated to be converted to natural gas. (Associated Press)
• An Alabama strike against Warrior Met Coal has stretched to more than two months with no sign of relenting. (The Nation)
With its carbon-capture plans for a New Mexico coal plant behind schedule, an energy company plans to continue running the plant without the technology for years beyond its scheduled closing date. (Albuquerque Journal)

NUCLEAR: Details of a sweeping clean energy bill in Illinois include nearly $700 million in ratepayer subsidies to keep three nuclear plants operating. (WBEZ)

UTILITIES: Federal prosecutors have reviewed more than 1 million pages of documents as part of its ongoing investigation into the state’s power plant bailout law. (Columbus Dispatch)

COMMENTARY: A climate policy think tank says an 80% by 2030 national renewable energy standard would open up $1.5 trillion in new investments while saving $1.7 trillion in health and environmental costs. (Forbes)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.