Judge sharply critical of coal donations to N.D. regulators

COAL: A federal judge says it is ​“ill-advised” and ​“devoid of common sense” for North Dakota regulators to take campaign contributions from the coal industry, but nevertheless rejects a lawsuit challenging the legality of the practice. (Fargo Forum)

ALSO: A coal plant malfunction sends a cloud of fly ash over Springfield, Missouri. (Springfield News-Leader)

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TRANSMISSION: A pair of utilities propose a new transmission line connecting Madison and LaCrosse; and as landowners see neighbors receiving annual payments for wind turbines, they’re asking why they can’t get the same deal for power lines. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Midwest Energy News)

FRACKING: Michigan regulators propose tougher restrictions on fracking, in response to concerns raised at more than 200 public meetings over the past two years. (MLive)

OIL: Drilling activity slows in Kansas as an anticipated boom fails to materialize, North Dakota regulators approve a revised plan for drilling near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and North Dakota’s attorney general warns the public’s tolerance for flaring natural gas ​“is coming to an end.” (Kansas City Star, Associated Press, Forum News Service)

PIPELINES: A report finds that federal regulators in charge of pipeline oversight spend more time at industry conferences than they do responding to spills and other incidents. (Huffington Post)

NUCLEAR: Former EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman is bullish on the future of Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant, and the University of Missouri gets $1.8 million to study small modular reactors. (MLive, Associated Press)

OHIO: A new report ranks Ohio last among 12 Midwest states for renewable energy generation; meanwhile, the state’s largest rooftop solar array, atop a GM plant in Toledo, is on track to be completed next month. (Columbus Business First, Toledo Blade)

BIOFUELS: How cellulosic biofuel research is also expanding knowledge about insect species that once thrived on native prairies. (Pierre Capital Journal)

EFFICIENCY: A Minnesota project aims to catalog all of the state’s Energy Star-certified buildings. (Rochester Post-Bulletin)

TRANSPORTATION: An update on high-speed rail proposals around the U.S. (The Atlantic)

COMMENTARY: One study should ease climate concerns about methane emissions from fracking, while another says wider use of shale gas won’t provide any long-term climate benefits, either. (The Energy Collective, Climate Progress)