MINING: Despite ongoing efforts to improve the water quality in an Ohio waterway polluted by drainage from coal mines, areas downstream are still depressed from a lack of biodiversity. Similar efforts persist elsewhere in the state. (Midwest Energy News, WCMH-TV)

SOLAR: A new web-based tool helps Minnesota consumers determine the financial benefits of enrolling in community solar programs, as well as where to find them. (Midwest Energy News)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join the nation’s most successful women leaders in energy as they share their industry knowledge, strategies and experiences at the Leadership Conference for Women in Energy, December 7-8 in Newport Beach, California.***

CLEAN POWER PLAN: An Ohio utility’s CEO says the Clean Power Plan can help the utility as it moves to diversify its energy mix. (Columbus Business First)

MICHIGAN: Advocates say a 30 percent renewable “goal” by 2025 isn’t as ambitious as it seems because it includes energy efficiency. (MLive)

OIL AND GAS:
• Utica shale drilling activity has led to $5.7 billion in infrastructure spending since the spring. (Columbus Business First)
Public universities in North Dakota have launched a new scholarship program to enroll laid-off oil workers in energy programs as a way to prepare them for new jobs. (Reuters)
A North Dakota city moves closer to banning oil field crew camps, even though oil companies says there’s still a need for temporary worker housing. (Associated Press)

COAL: A coal plant’s closing in West Michigan may jeopardize federal support to maintain a shipping port on Lake Michigan. (MLive)

BAKKEN PIPELINE:
• A recent study shows the Iowa commission voting on the project is one of the most inexperienced in the country. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks out against the proposed project, saying the country needs to “break our addiction to fossil fuels.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
Based on the list of speakers signed up to comment on the project, most of the opponents live within Iowa while a majority of supporters live outside the state. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

OIL BY RAIL: A railroad company says this week’s oil train derailment in Wisconsin was caused by a broken rail. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Using the Congressional Review Act is “another futile ploy by the coal industry” to derail the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
It’s inaccurate for labor bosses to say President Obama was “pandering” to “environmental extremists” with his Keystone XL decision — he was acting out of principal. (MLive)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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