Colorado advocates prepare to sue refinery over air pollution

OIL & GAS: Colorado advocates prepare to sue a Denver-area petroleum refinery, citing 9,205 air pollution violations over five years and accusing state and federal regulators of inadequate enforcement. (Colorado Sun)

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ALSO:

• U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, accuses the federal Bureau of Land Management’s proposed sage grouse protections of unnecessarily targeting oil and gas development while downplaying impacts of wildfire and drought. (E&E News, subscription)  
• A southern California oil and gas facility leaks crude oil into Bakersfield’s municipal water system, forcing businesses and residents to shut off taps. (Bakersfield Californian)

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NUCLEAR: California lawmakers reject Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bid to include another $400 million loan to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant operating as the state faces a budget deficit. (Modesto Bee)

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CLIMATE: An Alaska wildlife refuge plans to step up firefighting against blazes that don’t threaten humans or property in an effort to keep carbon sequestered in the ground. (Anchorage Daily News)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• California advocates propose a ballot initiative that would levy an emissions tax on large building owners in Berkeley to fund residential and commercial efficiency upgrades, electrification and solar installations. (East Bay Times)
• A Utah clean energy organization opens an all-electric, solar-equipped climate innovation center, saying it will serve as a model of how to construct energy-efficient buildings. (KSL)

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SOLAR:

• An Arizona county lifts a moratorium on new utility-scale solar installations on private land, replacing it with limits on where such development can occur. (Mohave Daily News)
• The U.S. Energy Department negotiates with developers to construct two solar installations totalling 400 MW within the Idaho National Laboratory site. (Electrek)

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UTILITIES: A San Diego community power authority begins offering a more carbon intensive, less-expensive energy mix to compete with investor-owned utilities. (Voice of San Diego)

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HYDROGEN: An Oregon utility partners with a startup to produce “turquoise” hydrogen fuel from methane and blend it into natural gas distribution lines. (KGW 8)

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LITHIUM:

• Utah regulators revoke a proposed direct lithium extraction project’s newly issued water right permit following advocates’ pushback, saying they will review the application and consider environmental concerns. (Utah News Dispatch)  
• Environmental and Indigenous advocates step up opposition to a proposed open pit lithium mine in Nevada, saying it imperils a rare wildflower and cultural sites. (Las Vegas Sun)

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GEOTHERMAL: Colorado awards $312,000 to a community in the western part of the state for designing and constructing a geothermal heating and cooling network. (Sopris Sun)

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COAL: A Wyoming county’s officials express frustration after only a handful of residents and no industry representatives attend their meeting to protest a Biden administration proposal to end federal coal leasing in the Powder River Basin. (WyoFile)

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POLITICS: U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, accuses the Biden administration of unfairly targeting red states with its fossil fuel policies, even though domestic oil and gas production is at all-time highs. (E&E News, subscription)

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COMMENTARY: Hawaii energy analysts say severe weather and unexpected oil plant failures — not increasing reliance on renewable energy — led to the state’s recent power outages. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

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