VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS VIOLATIONS:
• Undeterred by the VW scandal, Tennessee lawmakers are set to vote on loosening vehicle emissions testing requirements. (Associated Press)
• Tennessee lawmakers set a hearing in Chattanooga to assess the potential financial impact of the VW scandal on the state. (The Chattanoogan)
• The U.S. Senate is probing whether $50 million in tax subsidies may have gone to VW owners under false pretenses. (Associated Press)
• VW said it will recall affected diesel-powered vehicles beginning in January with hopes of retrofitting them by year-end 2016. (Associated Press)
• About one-third of the Passats assembled at VW’s plant in Chattanoogan cannot be sold until corrections are installed. (The Wall Street Journal)
POLICY: The IRS is calling for public comments on what would be the first change to the investment tax credit for qualifying commercial clean energy projects since 1987. (Greentech Media)
CLIMATE: What the historic South Carolina floods can — and can’t — tell us about climate change. (The Washington Post)
WASTE-TO-ENERGY: A significant drop in the price of recovered materials closes a waste-to-energy plant in Alabama. (Renewable Energy from Waste)
SOLAR: The utility-backed opponents of a solar choice amendment in Florida are running a new TV ad labeling a possible “standby charge” as a tax. (Saint Peters Blog)
COAL:
• West Virginia reaches an agreement with Patriot Coal that will set aside about $50 million for the coal company’s environmental cleanup responsibilities. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Patriot Coal says it is laying off about 1,000 coal miners in West Virginia. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• Citigroup is the third major bank announces it is cutting back on financing coal operations. (BloombergBusiness)
• Laid-off coal miners are to receive job training and career services via a $7.6 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
PIPELINES:
• The Georgia Public Service Commission fines Atlanta Gas Light $250,000 for corrosion deficiencies in a pipeline under construction. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Georgia officials ask a judge to throw out an appeal by the developers of the Palmetto Pipeline on a technicality. (Savannah Morning News)
COMMENTARY:
• A third reactor at Dominion Virginia Power’s North Anna plant would raise residential power prices 25%. (Power for the People VA)
• More frequent and more severe floods are the result of climate changes South Carolinians and others have to prepare for. (Mashable)
• Virginia can exceed its Clean Power Plan quota with a 43 percent carbon emissions reduction by 2030. (World Resources Institute)