EMISSIONS: U.S. emissions should stay relatively flat over the next few years, even with the Trump administration’s rollback of climate-friendly policies, according to a new report. (Washington Post)
POLITICS:
• EPA chief Scott Pruitt announces that his staff will gauge the “accuracy” of a major federal climate change report, saying “science should not be politicized.” (Politico)
• Some White House and Republican officials are considering West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to lead the U.S. Department of Energy. (Bloomberg)
EPA:
• California’s attorney general is suing the EPA for documents to determine whether Administrator Scott Pruitt has a conflict of interest. (Los Angeles Times)
• EPA employees say Scott Pruitt is taking extraordinary measures to conceal his actions at the agency. (New York Times)
• The courts are proving to be a considerable obstacle to the Trump administration’s efforts to overturn and block environmental policies at the EPA. (Vox)
OIL & GAS: The Trump administration has weakened international corruption-fighting efforts in the oil and mining sectors. (The New Yorker)
PIPELINES:
• Environmentalists want Maryland officials to reject a proposed 3.5-mile underground natural gas pipeline that would run under the Potomac River. (Baltimore Sun)
• A tribal liaison brought on to consult with the state of Minnesota over a proposed pipeline expansion resigns in protest of what she called a “a flawed environmental review process that lacked transparency, professionalism, and fairness.” (The Intercept)
COAL ASH:
• The safety manager at a coal ash spill cleanup site in Tennessee admitted workers were denied respirators and masks, which may be related to the death of at least two dozen people. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
• The EPA issues guidance to help states develop permitting programs to deal with coal ash. (Utility Dive)
COAL: A coal company run by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family is suing two Kentucky regulators personally for reclamation delays that could result in millions of dollars in fines. (Courier-Journal)
NUCLEAR:
• The U.S. nuclear power industry isn’t defeated yet, as Georgia moves ahead on its Vogtle nuclear project and lawmakers work to reboot a failed nuclear project in South Carolina. (Greentech Media)
• U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham leads a push for billions of dollars in federal aid to revive the abandoned Summer nuclear project in South Carolina, saying the project’s demise “would be the end of a nuclear renaissance before it even started.” (Associated Press)
• The state-owned utility Santee Cooper has dropped its plans to increase rates after abandoning construction at the Summer plant. (Associated Press)
• A lawsuit accuses South Carolina Electric and Gas of mismanaging finances for the Summer plant as well as concealing money problems from its customers. (Associated Press)
• Washington state officials have suspended a public utility’s authority to ship low-level radioactive waste after it mislabeled a shipment. (Seattle Times)
RENEWABLES: Critics say an Iowa utility’s proposed green-pricing program comes with a high premium and no guarantee that it will lead to additional renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• A bipartisan group of 16 senators tells the International Trade Commission that imposing tariffs on imported solar equipment could severely hurt the industry. (The Hill)
• Developers are moving forward with plans for a 52-megawatt solar project in South Dakota, which would be the state’s first utility-scale array. (Hot Springs Star)
WIND:
• General Motors says its SUV assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, will run off 100 percent wind power by the end of the year. (NBC)
• An Iowa utility is introducing new technology in its wind turbines that allow them to generate electricity at higher wind speeds. (Radio Iowa)
COMMENTARY:
• The former president of the SEIA offers advice for how to deal with possible outcomes of the Suniva/SolarWorld trade case, which could cost the U.S. solar industry 88,000 jobs. (Greentech Media)
• The Trump administration’s policies won’t deliver a surge of new oil jobs or boost tax revenues from oil, says a writer for Nexus Media.