COAL: A judge reinstates an Obama-era ban on coal leasing from federal lands, saying the Trump administration’s decision to lift the moratorium failed to consider the climate impacts of expanded coal production. (Associated Press)

ALSO: An environmental group sues the U.S. EPA, saying the agency is allowing a coal power plant in Arizona to sidestep air pollution control requirements. (E&E News, subscription)

OIL & GAS:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management pauses oil and gas leasing on 2.2 million acres in Colorado to settle an environmentalists’ lawsuit alleging the agency failed to consider its leasing plan’s climate impacts. (KSL)
• Researchers using infrared cameras detect up to 40 separate oil and gas facility leaks in Los Angeles County residential and commercial areas. (Capital & Main)
• A pipeline in Wyoming — owned by a company being prosecuted for previous spills — ruptures and releases more than 45,000 gallons of diesel fuel. (Associated Press)
• Three of the Permian Basin’s largest oil and gas producers join an international consortium aiming to reduce the industry’s methane emissions through better reporting, leak detection and new technologies. (Carlsbad Current-Argus) 

NUCLEAR:
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes exempting the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant from several environmental rules and lending its operator $1.4 million to keep the facility running beyond its planned 2025 retirement. (Los Angeles Times)
• The operators of a uranium processing plant and mines in Utah expect to benefit as utilities’ move to source nuclear reactor fuel domestically. (Cortez Journal)
• The companies demolishing the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant in southern California expect to complete the decommissioning project in 2028 as planned. (San Diego Union-Tribune) 

UTILITIES: Colorado regulators approve Xcel Energy’s plan to reduce carbon emissions 85% below 2005 levels by 2030. (KDVR)

GRID:
• California energy officials call on generators and transmission-line operators to hold off on scheduled maintenance this week as high temperatures are expected to strain the grid. (Sacramento Bee)
• California lawmakers pass a bill calling on the state’s grid operator to explore forming a regional electricity network. (E&E News, subscription)
• Thousands of residents of a U.S. Army base in Hawaii are asked to reduce power use until a failed transformer at an antiquated substation can be replaced. (Stars & Stripes) 

SOLAR: The U.S. EPA awards Arizona nonprofits grants to install and research solar powered, off-grid refrigeration systems in remote tribal communities and to train solar technicians on the Navajo Nation. (news release)

LITHIUM: Mining organizations say the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax break for companies that produce lithium, nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals will be a boon for the industry. (E&E News)

TRANSPORTATION: New Mexico offers grants for constructing electric vehicle fast charging stations in rural and low- or moderate-income areas. (KRQE)

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Jonathan hails from southwestern Colorado and has been writing about the land, cultures, and communities of the Western United States for more than two decades. He compiles the Western Energy News digest. He is the author of three books, a contributing editor at High Country News, and the editor of the Land Desk, an e-newsletter that provides coverage and context on issues critical to the West.