CLIMATE: New Jersey firefighters say they’ve largely contained the state’s largest wildfire in 15 years; Climate models suggest the state’s properties face significantly increased wildfire risk in the decades ahead. (Washington Post, Gizmodo)
ALSO:
• Lawyers for oil and gas firms fighting Rhode Island’s climate crisis liability lawsuit petition a federal appeals court to again prevent the case from being sent back to a state court — a move that often forecasts a U.S. Supreme Court petition. (E&E News, subscription)
• In an interview, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu highlights her climate crisis mitigation plans and her motivation for bringing free public transit to the city. (Guardian)
BUILDINGS:
• Environmentalists push New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to approve emergency land use rules that would expand the number of designated flood plains; business groups say the policy should go through the standard rulemaking process. (NJ Spotlight)
• New York City climate advocates want the city to accelerate progress toward decarbonizing public school buildings, which mainly use antiquated oil and gas heating systems. (NY Daily News)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Officials with New York’s Port of Albany scramble to remain eligible for a nearly $30 million federal grant for an offshore wind turbine tower assembly facility after cutting down trees without an environmental review. (Times Union)
• Only one person testified against a Maryland offshore wind farm proposal during its first federal public hearing. (Maryland Matters)
GRID:
• New York utility regulators approve a 135 MW energy storage project in New York City and a new cost-benefit method for transmission upgrades focused on capacity expansion modeling. (Utility Dive)
• A federal appeals court strikes down part of a plan by federal energy regulators to pay New England power plants to maintain a three-day supply of on-site fuel for the next two winters. (Utility Dive)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Boston’s transit agency takes a series of new trains off the tracks due to a battery failure in one; Massachusetts legislative leaders announce an agency oversight hearing on the same day. (Boston Globe, Boston Herald)
• As some state lawmakers propose a $400 million fund to improve safety on Boston’s transit system, Massachusetts transit advocates consider whether that’s enough money to get the job done. (MassLive)
• New Jersey legislators send a bill to the governor’s desk that would double funding for electric school buses. (NJ Spotlight)
FOSSIL FUELS: The potential for Pennsylvania crop harvests to be harmed by high prices and rolling diesel fuel outages sends bipartisan fear through the state legislature. (Morning Call)
AFFORDABILITY:
• Over 327,000 low-income New Yorkers are set to receive bill credits from a $250 million funding infusion in the state’s energy affordability program. (SI Live)
• New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu plans to announce today a plan to help with residential utility bill burdens as one of the state’s investor-owned utilities argues in favor of a rate hike. (InDepthNH)
COMMENTARY: A historian discovers Harriet Tubman’s legacy along Maryland’s Eastern Shore is being washed away by rising coastal marshland waters. (New York Times)
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