Colorado officials: proposed drilling could compromise Superfund site

OIL & GAS: Colorado and federal officials worry a proposed 166-well oil and gas drilling project near Denver could cause a Superfund site’s toxic waste depository to leak into groundwater. (Colorado Sun)

ALSO:

• California officials say the source of a 2.5-mile long crude oil sheen reported off the state’s southern coast last week remains unknown. (Associated Press)
• A company proposes expanding its natural gas distribution network in Wyoming to enable it to ship more of the fuel to West Coast markets. (Cowboy State Daily)

COAL: A study from an Alaska university recommends constructing a coal power plant to offset predicted power generation losses resulting from a looming natural gas shortage in the south-central part of the state. (Anchorage Daily News)

BIOFUELS: Hawaii officials investigate the cause of a large fire that broke out at a biomass power plant on Kauai last week. (Associated Press)

TRANSITION: A manufactured home factory at a shuttered coal plant on the Navajo Nation receives a $24 million federal grant to expand production using recycled steel from the power facility. (KNAU)

SOLAR:

• New Mexico’s Supreme Court begins hearing arguments as investor-owned utilities challenge state community solar program rules. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• California researchers develop a mapping method aimed at guiding proposed solar installations to areas where they would have the lowest environmental impacts. (Cosmos)
• A former California environment secretary urges state lawmakers to undo regulators’ decision to slash payments for rooftop solar, saying it was based on flawed arguments. (Politico)

TRANSMISSION: The federal Bureau of Land Management seeks public input on the proposed Greenlink transmission project that would follow the ​“Loneliest Road in America” and skirt sage grouse habitat in Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

WIND: The Bear River tribal nation votes to oppose proposed wind power development off California’s northern coast. (news release)

ELECTRIFICATION: A judge rejects the construction industry’s bid to block new Washington state codes incentivizing electric heat pump installations in new construction. (Washington State Standard)

CLIMATE: A former Washington state transportation department economist sues the state, saying he was forced out of his job after predicting the state’s cap-and-invest program would lead to higher gasoline prices. (King5)

POLLUTION: Researchers predict flaws in a California neighborhood environmental screening tool could result in communities missing out on billions of dollars of funding. (CalMatters)

UTILITIES: Montana advocates and a utility spar over the causes of a $39 million increase to customers’ collective utility bills for power consumed during a January cold snap. (Daily Montanan)

MINING:

• Arizona regulators propose issuing a groundwater permit to a controversial proposed copper mine in the southern part of the state. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Utah advocates say an exploratory well blowout in the southeastern part of the state validates concerns about a proposed lithium extraction operation. (Green River Observer, news release)