COAL ASH:
• Facing growing pressure, Dominion Virginia Power moves to close 11 coal ash ponds and treat wastewater before it’s disposed of in state rivers. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• A Virginia county and Dominion Virginia Power agree on a plan to manage wastewater ending its appeal against the utility. (The Washington Post)
• Dominion courts state news media in a bid to explain its disposal of wastewater. (WTVR-TV)
ALSO:
• North Carolina prepares to tell residents near Duke Energy coal ash ponds it is safe to drink water from public wells. (Triangle Business Journal)
COAL:
• A candidate for governor in West Virginia decries legislation that would weaken safety protections for miners. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources files for bankruptcy. (Kingsport Times-News)
• Kentucky utilities retired 10% of the state’s coal-fired power plants in 2015, the most behind Georgia and Ohio. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
NUCLEAR:
• A petition filed by seven engineers at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission urges swift action to correct safety issues at reactors in South Carolina and Tennessee. (The News Courier)
• Two reactors in Arkansas are close to a mandatory shutdown order by federal regulators. (Nuclear Street)
• Why any plan for a new reactor needs ratepayers bound to utilities in regulated wholesale power markets to succeed. (Climate Progress)
CLIMATE:
• Defense facilities throughout the U.S. now officially must acknowledge threats posed by climate change. (Greenwire)
• Virginia Beach receives an $844,000 grant to finish analyzing local impacts of rising sea levels. (The Virginia-Pilot)
PIPELINES: The Virginia Supreme Court affirms the right to survey proposed routes without an owner’s permission. (The Roanoke Times)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: Virginia wants a share of potential offshore drilling revenue. (The Virginian-Pilot)
SOLAR: A sustainability group in Louisville embarks on a push to develop rooftop solar projects. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
OIL & GAS:
• Kentucky orders a company to stop dumping radioactive waste from out-of-state drilling operations. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• More than 300 environmental groups ask President Obama to back away from his plan to delay federal revenue sharing with states from Gulf drilling. (The Hill)
POLITICS: Charlotte philanthropist Jay Faison offers some details about his plan to persuade GOP lawmakers to back clean energy policies. (Charlotte Observer)
2010 BP OIL SPILL: Florida Sen. Bill Nelson wants the damage claims administrator to speed up processing. (McClatchy Newspapers)
UTILITIES: Louisiana-based Cleco Corp. asks regulators to revisit their rejection of its proposed sale to an investment group. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
COMMENTARY: Climate change needs to be a topic at the presidential debates. (Gainesville Sun)