CLIMATE: Virginia’s attorney general said the state can regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which could include setting a statewide cap for new and existing fossil fuel plants. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

NUCLEAR: 
• Atlanta-based Southern Co. will take over the building of two nuclear reactors at its Vogtle plant from bankrupt contractor Westinghouse. (Bloomberg)
• Owners of the Vogtle and Summer nuclear plants agree to cap Toshiba’s liability for the projects, as the company projects an $8.4 billion net loss for the fiscal year. (Reuters, Associated Press)
• Another $15.5 million in liens have been filed against Westinghouse for the Vogtle and Summer nuclear projects. (Aiken Standard)
• Public hearings are scheduled today for TVA’s interest in a site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for a pilot plant using small modular reactors. (Times Free Press)

PIPELINES:
• FERC announced its final environmental impact statements for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will be released in late July, three weeks later than expected. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
• Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates continue to focus on the Atlantic Coast pipeline project, this time at a forum at the University of Virginia on Saturday. (Daily Progress)

CLEAN ENERGY: Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has been designated as a Green Power Community by the EPA. (Oak Ridge Daily)

OIL: Black Elk Energy pleaded guilty to safety and environmental charges and will pay $4.2 million for a 2012 oil platform fire off Louisiana’s coast that killed three workers. (Associated Press)

COAL ASH:
• A lawsuit claims coal ash ponds at Dominion Energy’s Possum Point Power Station contaminated nearby drinking water wells. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• The Kentucky-based Charah company has asked to be allowed to continue disposing coal ash at a North Carolina site after it was ruled its environmental permits were improper. (Progressive Pulse)

UTILITIES: Entergy Mississippi will install advanced meters to help customers reduce energy consumption. (Daily Energy Insider)

EMISSIONS: North Carolina says the state’s air has become clean enough that only 22 of its 100 counties still have to conduct vehicle emissions testing. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY:
• Officials in a Tennessee county say they support TVA’s small nuclear reactor project. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
• A newspaper editorial says that instead of supporting Sen. Marco Rubio’s proposed legislation, Florida lawmakers should extend the state’s drilling ban in the eastern gulf. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Unless greenhouse gas emissions are dramatically reduced, Louisiana’s coast will disappear, but the state’s lawmakers “keep voting to drown” by opposing energy conservation efforts, a columnist says. (Times-Picayune)