POLLUTION: Experts say that Los Angeles’ clear skies and fresher air under the state’s coronavirus lockdown will be temporary, as the systemic problems contributing to pollution and carbon emissions haven’t changed. (Grist)

ALSO:
• A partnership to electrify transportation in the Los Angeles area proposes a $150 billion federal stimulus to advance new technology and cut vehicle emissions. (Utility Dive)
• Two advocacy groups sue the EPA, seeking to overturn the agency’s decision to pass on further mandated emissions reductions in a Southern California county. (Palm Springs Desert Sun)

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PIPELINES:
• A court’s decision to withdraw a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline could have far-reaching ramifications for oil and gas pipeline developers. (E&E News)
• Oil companies are asking the BLM for permission to store oil in pipelines on federal lands and to allow the suspension of production without losing their leases. (Washington Post)

OIL & GAS:
• Environmental advocates are questioning why California regulators approved new fracking permits in a region plagued by the kind of air pollution beginning to be linked to coronavirus deaths. (Grist)
• Oil and gas activity in the Permian Basin continues to decline, with only 70 rigs active in the New Mexico portion as of last Friday, down from 84 the week before and 100 at the start of April. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• BP says the sale of its North Slope holdings to Hilcorp remains on track despite ongoing oil market volatility and concerns about Hilcorp’s finances. (Anchorage Daily News)

CALIFORNIA:
• PG&E wildfire victims say some law firms are making it difficult for them to reject the utility’s bankruptcy exit plan. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
• Sonoma County, California and its largest city are set to receive roughly $302 million combined from PG&E to settle claims for damage caused by wildfires in 2017 and 2018. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

COAL: The U.S. Department of Energy awarded grants to a New Mexico research institution to study the potential for carbon sequestration in saline reservoirs and to a Wyoming  project aiming for a commercial-scale geological carbon dioxide storage complex. (Albuquerque Journal, Gillette News Record)

PUBLIC LANDS: The numbers of greater sage grouse are expected to continue dropping across the West for the fourth consecutive year, which experts say is a consequence of relaxed environmental protection. (Wyoming News Exchange)

SOLAR: A community solar project is providing clean energy to utility customers in rural Colorado. (Brush News-Tribune)

COMMENTARY: An Arizona regulator fights to stay on the ballot despite learning that some of the signatures to get him there were forged. (Arizona Republic)

Lisa is a Lenape and Nanticoke Native American freelance journalist, editor and writer currently based in the U.K. She has more than two decades’ experience working in corporate communications and print and digital media. She compiles the Western Energy News daily email digest. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University; her specializations include data journalism and visualization. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (U.K.).