EPA to restore California’s authority to set tougher climate rules for cars

TRANSPORTATION: Following the Transportation Department’s easing of Trump-era restrictions on state-level pollution rules, the EPA announces it will restore California’s authority to set stricter climate requirements for cars and SUVs. (Washington Post)

ALSO:
• Environmental groups are calling for an accelerated move from gasoline- and diesel-fueled cars and trucks in the wake of the federal restoration of California’s authority to set its own tailpipe emission standards. (E&E News, subscription)
• University of California experts release a policy report of options that could substantially reduce transportation-related fossil fuel demand and emissions and lead to a zero-carbon transportation system by 2045. (Biofuels Digest)

GRID: California regulators are struggling with working toward a reliable ​“future grid” as ratepayers grapple with rising electricity costs. (Utility Dive)

POLLUTION: Families in a region of Southern California populated by warehouses shipping online orders are struggling with adverse health impacts from pollution. (NBC News)

HYDROPOWER: A coalition of environmental groups file a federal appeal requesting a review of a district court judge’s dismissal of their original complaint about the expansion of a Colorado dam. (BizWest Media, subscription)

UTILITIES:
• Xcel Energy opposes a Colorado bill that would direct state regulators to conduct a feasibility study on community choice aggregation, saying it won’t advance the state’s clean energy goals. (Daily Energy Insider)
• A New Mexico hearing examiner orders the state’s largest utility and Avangrid to return to negotiations with a May 7 deadline because there aren’t enough parties in agreement with their proposed merger. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• A New Mexico natural gas utility is the latest to propose increasing its rates in a bid to recover costs from February’s winter storm. (Las Cruces Sun-News)

OIL & GAS: A California agency announces support for an activist hedge fund’s director nominees to Exxon Mobil’s board, saying it would ​“benefit from additional expertise in both its core business and in renewable energy technologies.” (Reuters)

EFFICIENCY: Aspen, Colorado’s city council awards a local non-profit $1.2 million towards its effort to assist neighboring towns with efficiency initiatives in 2022, including electrification. (Aspen Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A California editorial board says Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vacillation over banning fracking will not save him from a recall. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Three academics, including Chelsea Clinton, call for an end to federal fracking exemptions, citing California and Colorado studies showing the adverse impacts to maternal and public health. (Stat News)
• A Pacific Northwest editor explores the legacy of racism and exclusion built into the region’s transportation infrastructure. (Crosscut)
• A clean energy advocate and an auto trade organization official support a California bill incentivizing the purchase of electric vehicles to reduce transportation pollution. (CalMatters)