Advocates say Ohio can’t be trusted to permit fracking wastewater sites

OIL & GAS: Advocates petition the U.S. EPA to take over permitting of injection wells for fracking waste, citing ​“longstanding and systemic failures” in state oversight. (Ohio Capital Journal)

GRID:
• Xcel Energy is seeking to expand its work on community microgrids in Minnesota, with critics saying the utility would hold an unfair advantage over other developers. (Energy News Network)
• Developers are fighting a Federal Emergency Management Association proposal to toughen construction standards for wind and solar projects to improve reliability in extreme weather, saying the new rules will kill projects. (Utility Dive)
• An Indiana task force recommends lawmakers ease barriers to new transmission and adopt time-of-use rates, but fails to address rooftop solar, efficiency and equity. (WFYI)
• A rare October tornado outbreak knocked out power to 22,000 customers in southeast Wisconsin yesterday. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

PIPELINES:
• An Iowa county is dropped from the proposed route for a CO2 pipeline, with a local official saying he’s glad the developer ​“has decided to take its dog and pony show elsewhere.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• An Iowa landowner being sued by CO2 pipeline developers for blocking access to her land believes the company is ​“going to make an example of us.” (Sioux City Journal)

HB 6 SCANDAL:
• Attorney General Dave Yost asks the Ohio Supreme Court to block a ruling that would unfreeze former regulator Sam Randazzo’s assets. (Cleveland.com)
• In a debate with election challenger Rep. Jeff Crossman, Yost defends his record on the HB 6 corruption scandal. (WOSU)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to be on hand today for the groundbreaking of a new battery plant that its founder says will help move the industry away from rare materials like cobalt. (Detroit Free Press)
• A planned rare minerals processing plant in North Dakota receives a $114 million federal grant. (Bismarck Tribune)

UTILITIES: Consumer and industry groups push back on AEP Ohio’s request for regulators to lower grid reliability standards. (Ideastream Public Media)

SOLAR:
• An Ohio township is seeking to block a proposed solar array, but a new law giving local governments more siting power won’t apply because it was passed after the project was initially filed. (Springfield News-Sun)
• A Missouri task force is exploring how to tax solar farms after the state Supreme Court struck down a property tax exemption in August. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• 7-Eleven signs a deal with DTE Energy to provide 100% renewable energy to its 160 Southeast Michigan locations. (CBS Detroit)
• A Wisconsin congressman criticizes state clean energy goals, saying customers should get electricity from whoever can provide it most cheaply. (WQOW)

CLIMATE: An analysis ranks the Minnesota legislature, Michigan attorney general, Ohio Supreme Court and other races as among the most pivotal for climate policy in this year’s election. (Vox, Energy News Network)