California youths sue U.S. EPA over oil and gas climate damages

OIL & GAS: California youths file a lawsuit accusing the U.S. EPA of violating their constitutional rights by permitting oil and gas development that contributes to climate change and air pollution. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO:

• New Mexico advocates urge state lawmakers to ban new drilling within one mile from schools, require greater transparency around spills and prohibit freshwater use in oil and gas development if recycled wastewater can be used. (NM Political Report)
• Advocates are optimistic about a provision in the U.S. EPA’s new methane emissions rules for oil and gas facilities that allows third-parties to find and report ​“super-emitters” of the potent greenhouse gas. (Grist)

CLIMATE:

• Idaho regulators launch a federally funded effort to develop a state climate pollution reduction plan. (Boise State Public Radio)
• Researchers find human-caused climate change is warming the Arctic four times faster than the global average, leading to flooding, wildfires and other extreme weather. (OPB)
• Utah advocates worry the state’s conservative lawmakers lack the political will to save the Great Salt Lake from climate change-exacerbated drought and warming and overuse. (Mother Jones)
• California climate experts and advocates are mixed on the non-binding United Nations plan to move away from fossil fuels, with some saying it is a big step forward and others saying it does too little to address the crisis at hand. (San Francisco Chronicle)

CLEAN ENERGY: The federal Bureau of Land Management plans to spend $2.5 million on a California desert cultural landscape study aimed at streamlining clean energy development while minimizing its impact on tribal ancestral lands. (Desert Sun)

GRID:

• Federal regulators say California has decreased its risk of power shortfalls and outages by adding more wind, solar and battery-storage resources to the grid. (Bloomberg)
• California’s grid operator says increased exports — not high in-state demand or supply shortfalls — led to this July’s energy emergency alerts. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A remote Alaska Native community declares a disaster after going five days without power during freezing weather. (KTOO)

MICROGRIDS: Hawaiian Electric considers installing microgrids in Maui to facilitate the creation of a public safety power shutoff program aimed at mitigating fire hazard. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

UTILITIES:

• Oregon advocates and lawmakers call for an investigation of the state’s largest natural gas utility for allegedly spreading misinformation about the health and climate risks of natural gas stoves. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• Investigators find that a sagging Southern California Edison electrical line sparked the deadly 2022 Fairview Fire. (East Bay Times)
• Colorado regulators trim about $3 billion from Xcel Energy’s proposed $15 billion plan to build new generation and transmission. (Colorado Sun)

BIOFUELS: Hawaiian Electric plans to replace six units in an aging oil-fired plant with generators fueled by biodiesel and possibly hydrogen. (Power Engineering)

Editor’s note: Yesterday’s newsletter was sent with an incorrect subject line. We apologize for the error.