OIL & GAS: Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon calls President Biden’s indefinite ban of federal oil and gas leasing a “direct attack” on the state, warning that lost revenue will be “devastating” for the state. (Casper-Star-Tribune)

ALSO:
• Wyoming towns are grappling with transitioning from fossil fuels after decades of calls to diversify the state’s economy have gone largely ignored. (NPR)
• Western U.S. senators introduce a bill that would permanently ban oil and gas drilling in federal waters off Washington, Oregon and California. (National Fisherman)
• New Mexico’s Democratic congressional delegation is caught between supporting President Biden and constituents angry about the moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal lands. (E&E News)
• A new study of the groundwater overlying a Southern California oil field shows no sign of widespread contamination. (Ventura County Star)

STORAGE: Environmental groups join with the Yakama Nation in opposing a pumped-hydro storage facility along the Columbia River. (Portland Business Journal)

ELECTRIFICATION: Seattle’s mayor signs a recently-passed bill banning natural gas in new large multifamily and commercial buildings into law. (My Northwest)

NATURAL GAS: A New Mexico bill aiming to block new electricity generating facilities that burn natural gas advances. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)

CLIMATE:
• A New Mexico city aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 19% considers its options. (KRWG)
• An Idaho town approves a resolution to transition to 100% clean energy by 2045. (Idaho Mountain Express)

COAL:
• Wyoming advocates question whether there is an adequate reclamation plan for Powder River Basin coal mines that will be closing soon. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• A settlement is reached in a class-action lawsuit involving nearly 600 Wyoming miners against bankrupt coal company Blackjewel. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Montana regulators are supportive of a bill that would allow them to consider impacts on local communities before closing coal plants. (Billings Gazette)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Washington state’s attorney general in an email to two state legislators expresses concerns about a proposed ban on registering new gas- and diesel-powered vehicles in 2030. (Seattle Times)
• Colorado’s strategy to combat climate change includes free e-bike giveaways to help lower emissions from short-to-medium distance car journeys. (Colorado Public Radio News)

HYDROGEN:
• A California startup behind technology that splits methane into hydrogen gas and solid carbon secures $11.5 million thanks to a venture capital fund backed by Bill Gates. (Bloomberg)
• Southern California Gas invests $1.3 million towards the development of  hydrogen fuel technologies for zero emissions commercial transportation. (news release)

COMMENTARY:
• A Rocky Mountain Institute official and transportation advocate cite California as an example of how inequalities will remain in place by only focusing on electric vehicles as the solution to problems with emissions. (Bloomberg)
• An Idaho editorial board says U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s plan to breach four lower Snake River dams to save endangered salmon and steelhead doesn’t go far enough in appealing to Pacific Northwest politicians. (Lewiston Tribune)
• Two Western conservationists present a roadmap for President Biden to consider in reversing the Trump administration’s harmful actions towards national parks and public lands and waters. (High Country News)

Lisa Ellwood

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.).